Inu 12
by manekochan
Summary: What happens when Inu-Yasha's blood-thirsty brother Sesshomaru gets ahold of some water from Jusenkyou? Alot more than either demon bargains for.
1. Strange Water: Sesshomaru makes a deal

(Revision)

Inu 1/2

Chapter 1

Strange Water: Sesshomaru makes a deal

A rarely seen smile crept across Sesshomaru's lips. In his hands he held two bamboo stalks full of liquid. The liquid inside sloshed against the sides ass he tilted them slightly.

Jaken waddled behind him, looking at the mess he'd left in his wake.

"What are we to do with the body, M'Lord?" he asked with only a little hesitation.

Sesshomaru glanced back at the bloody crumpled heap of what had been a demon foreigner.

His eyes faced forward again. "Leave it," he said without feeling or remorse. He tossed the bamboo stalks to a startled Jaken.

"Bwagh! Careful with those, M'Lord!!!" he cried as he scrambled to catch them, letting the two-headed staff clatter onto the rocky earth.

Sesshomaru kept walking as Jaken fumbled with his armload. "Stow those until they are needed."

Jaken hastily put them into a sack and hefted it onto his back, trying frantically to catch up to his master. He dared not say anything more to him. This was the best mood he'd been in in many years.

Sesshomaru smiled to himself for the 3rd time in an hour. He had to almost suppress a laugh as he looked down at the hand of his newly acquired left arm. He clenched his fist, relishing the feeling of his own claws digging into his palm. The foreign demon had been kind enough to "lend" him his arm before the rest of his body had been rent asunder.

The demon had been traveling, simply passing through, but had obviously been having a bad way of it, having had to scrounge for food and frequently hide from the somewhat savage and powerful demons of the region. He had started out with a sack full of the bamboo flasks, but the brunt of them had been lost or stolen before he could reach his destination.

Then, he had seen the girly-looking one armed demon and his squat toad-like companion and smiled at his luck. The two would be easy targets, he had reasoned and began to feel a bit lucky. They didn't even appear to be carrying any weapons except for a sword, which looked as if it had never touched another being, (being the Tensaiga, it really hadn't) and the two-headed staff the toady-thing was carrying didn't look that formidable unless it had some kind of magic powers or something (which it did, but...). He reasoned that being out in the middle of nowhere, as they were, at least one of the two demons would have some food or drink and decided to try and trick them into trading him some for his flasks of bamboo (and then conveniently stealing them back after they were unwary of him). If that failed, he could always use the flasks on the two demons and then run away. Trouble with that was that the labels, which were paper that had been stuck on with a bit of tree sap, had fallen off quite a long time ago in one of the more humid regions he'd been traveling through.

He had approached the demons and tried to make small talk with the larger one, at first, but was met only with an icy stare and a cold silence that had been enough to freeze the voice in his throat and make him rethink his plan. Still, after a bit of hesitation, he persisted and began to explain to him his situation and hard luck to them in broken Japanese.

"You see, I have been traveling for quite lot time now." Sesshomaru looked incredibly unfazed and unsympathetic. "I would be very much happy if sirs would be giving me some food or drink."

Sesshomaru's gaze had remained forward and the demon had begun to get nervous and coughed a little. "Of course, I can be paying you. I have something that may be of help to sirs." The demon slyly looked at Sesshomaru's arm. "I seeing you not without enemies. Maybe you be needing my help?"

Sesshomaru had flinched at that and Jaken had flown into a sputtering fit, complete with hopping erratically up and down. "What?!? Lord Sesshomaru doesn't need help from the likes of you! Shall I dispense with him, M'Lord?"

Sesshomaru nodded, as he had become slightly annoyed.

The foreign demon cut in quickly. "You do not wish to greatly shame your worst enemy before destroying him?"

"Shut your mouth!" Jaken had franticly cried. And with that he had, perhaps for the worse, added, "The half-breed shames himself!" He raised the two-headed staff, ready to bring it down on the other demon's head when all of a sudden, he no longer felt its weight.

"Eh?" he uttered and started to look up only to feel the unmistakable crack of the staff against his own skull. "M-M'Lord?..." he had asked in confusion. Sesshomaru hadn't acknowledged him but had simply withdrawn the staff.

"I will allow you to speak," Sesshomaru said without turning toward the demon. "But you **WILL** be brief." It had been a command, not a mere suggestion and the demon nodded once, having still not fully comprehended the situation and danger he was in.

"I have with me," he had begun, "two flasks of strange liquid. It transform who it touch into something else. I give to you... for food and drink, yes?"

Sesshomaru was quiet for a minute. The demon smiled to himself and quickly went over a plan to steal the flasks back. To the right person, they would fetch a king's ransom. He let out a tiny, "fuh.""

"Hf." Sesshomaru had deigned to glance at the fellow, eying him archly. He shut his eyes and produced an ultimatum. "You will give them to me," he had said, turning and dropping the staff into Jakens waiting hands.

Sesshomaru held up his right hand, the claws gleaming perfectly in the light. "And I will allow you to live," he had said in his calm, matter-of-fact way of speaking.

The little demon had chuckled, belaying his doubt that the one armed demon could come within a hair's breadth of him and had quickly and self-assuredly retorted with, "But sir only be having one arm. Maybe it is I who should be dealing the threats, yes?"

The demon looked at Sesshomaru smugly and had time enough to blink before he felt the searing pain at his left shoulder. For a moment, he didn't understand until he had seen Sesshomaru sliding his arm under the sleeve of his kimono. He watched in amazement as it pulsed to life and Sesshomaru tried out his new appendage.

"I believe you were saying something about my arm?"

The demon stared in disbelief and clutched at his shoulder. He had begun to tremble and falter and had begun to fumble with the bag on his back clumsily producing from it two flasks. Real fear crept into his brain as he realized what a mistake he had made.

"H-h-here," he said holding one of the flasks out in his trembling hand, hoping it would placate the demon before him--the one he had sorely misjudged. The other flask sat next to him on the ground.

"T-take it. Is yours. Let me go. I give you no more trouble. Please."

Sesshomaru knew that had been true enough, he certainly wouldn't be giving him anymore trouble, but he wouldn't kill him just yet.

Sesshomaru took the first flask from the hands of the demon and uncorked it, sniffing it delicately as the little maimed demon cowered before him. His hand good hand pressed futilely against the still gushing wound that had been an arm.

Sesshomaru's eyes had hardened and he had turned to the demon with a calm expression on his face. "Take me for a fool, would you?" he asked in a voice that marked his disinterest and unsurprise.

The wounded one had shaken his head vigorously. "Never!" he had cried and shortly after had begun to ask for mercy.

Sesshomaru had been unmoved and lifted the cask above the demon's head. "Inside this cask," he had said in his eerily calm way of speaking, "is mere water..." He had slowly tilted the bamboo flask and let the water run out, much like his patience had been doing. The demon before him had whined and sniveled and his voice had become more high pitched. Sesshomaru had begun a little speech about how little demons shouldn't toy with others so superior to them when quite suddenly, his eyes went surprisingly wide (at least, for Sesshomaru) as he realized the change in the demon. He had tilted the flask up almost immediately, not wanting to waste anymore of the liquid he had just deemed valuable.

He had stared at it for a minute at a loss for words but reason soon found him and he had corked the flask again. A sly smile had begun to set itself onto his face as he had thought about the fun he could have with such a lovely elixir. The thought of his "brother dearest" being the end of such a trick as this made him all the more happy. Such a satisfyingly shameful and humiliating end would bring him no end of pleasure.

The noticeably smaller demon had still been cowering and quivering in a trembling mass. "For your truly exquisite gift, I thank you." The demon had looked up in surprise. "But," Sesshomaru had added. "Your sniveling offends my ears." And with a swipe of his new hand he had severed the demon into several pieces. The irony of having killed someone with their own claws had not been lost on him and he smirked soon after bending down to retrieve the rest of his prize and had enjoyed a thoroughly nice daydream about killing his half-breed brother.


	2. New Karada: Inu-Yasha takes the plunge

Inu ½

Chapter 2

New Karada: Inu Yasha takes the plunge

Inu-Yasha sat lazily in the tops of a tree eyeing the well. It had been a while since Kagome had last shown her face and he was getting bored. He'd long since gotten tired of talking to Myouga and had sent the flea out on reconnaissance to find out what he could about any new Shikon shards.

If he found anything, it'd give him something to do, anyway. The Tetsusaiga hung uselessly at his side, carefully placed within its scabbard. He contemplated going to find Kagome, but decided against it since she might think he actually _wanted_ to see her or something. If he went to the village, he'd just get weird looks and Old Lady Kaede would start trying to talk to him about why he hated Kikyou. He didn't want to think about her OR the fact that Kagome was her reincarnation and the less he talked to Kaede about it the less chance he would have to have his embarrassing secret known to Kagome. That secret being, of course, that he had sort of been falling in love with Kikyo. But then the bitch went all treacherous on him and basically did the equivalent of ripping his heart out and stomping on it. He'd be DAMNED if he was going to let ANYone find out how hurt he'd been by her and the fact that he was sort of getting to enjoy the company of her current incarnation was pissing him off even more.

"Great," he thought, gruffly. "That's just what I need to be thinking about right now. If that idiot Kagome were here we could on with this damn thing and I could work my frustrations out by killing something."

So, there he sat, virtually napping, although he wasn't tired, and basically working himself into a depressing funk. He'd been sitting on the tree branch for a few hours when he finally began to doze off, but he caught a familiar scent. His eyes flashed open and he rolled off the tree branch in time to see it splinter into thousands of tiny pieces.

He and Sesshomaru landed on the grassy clearing near the well. Sesshomaru lit gracefully and silently while Inu-Yasha ground himself to a halt with the hush of crushed grass under his feet. He dug in for the inevitable lunge, sweating a little. _Shit,_ he thought bitterly. _He caught me napping by the well. If that idiot Kagome comes through now..._ He straightened his stance a bit, barred his teeth and drew the Tetsusaiga which transformed as he pulled it. He grimly noticed that Sesshomaru now had a left arm again.

Sesshomaru smiled slightly. He was alone. Jaken had run off after a bit afraid that Sesshomaru would want to try out the second flask of water on him. His fear was not unfounded and Sesshomaru cursed that his retainer had had that much foresight but was thankful, at least that he'd left the two flasks, so perhaps he would just hurt him badly instead of maiming him when he found him. "Where is your wench? I had so wanted to humiliate you in front of her." He noticed that at that Inu-Yasha had become a bit more nervous. He shrugged. "No matter..." before the words were completely out of his mouth he was in Inu-Yasha's face.

Inu-Yasha was taken by surprise and was given no time to dodge the attack, realizing, with a sick feeling, that the first attack had been intentionally slow. Shesshomaru had something planned.

Inu-Yasha bore up, ready to feel the sting of claws but they never came and Sesshomaru passed him without so much as scratching him.

It was then that he realized he was wet.

Inu-Yasha was in momentary shock. It was just water. His brow creased. Sesshomaru was playing with him. He began to get angry. Did Sesshomaru think so little of him even after having cut off his arm? Did he think so little of him that he thought he could come to his forest for a water fight and go away unscathed?!? It was an insult that he wouldn't suffer.

With a snarl of contempt, Inu-Yasha spun to face his brother and was infuriated when he was met with a smile. A rather large one. As a matter of fact, was he suppressing laughter? Inu-Yasha's blood boiled, his eyes blazed with anger and his grip tightened around the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.

"_Asshole_," he growled, his hands trembling with anger. "**What in the hell is so funny?**" he demanded and went to raise the huge sword. He stressed, noticing that it was much heavier than usual.

Sesshomaru covered his mouth delicately with the side of his right hand and desperately tried not to laugh at the spectacle. His brother let out a cry of, "**Shi-i-i-i-t**!!!" angrily and with a final jerk, hoisted the sword up above his head. His face was beet red from the exertion and he was a bit out of breath. He began to laugh somewhat maniacally in triumph and growled, "Thought you had me beat, didn't you?" at Sesshomaru. He tried to take a step forward, but the Tetsusaiga proved too heavy for him and with a confused look on his face he toppled over backwards.

Inu-Yasha stared at the sky, his eyes wide with confusion. "What? What is going on?" he wondered aloud and sat up letting the sword slip from his hands. Sesshomaru turned away, his face tinting slightly from the suppressed laughter. He cleared his throat and composed himself, turning back in time to see Inu-Yasha at the moment of comprehension.

"My... my voice..." his eyes were wide in shock. He didn't want to look down. "I sound like a fucking _wo_man," he said. He felt his chest with both hands through the kimono and noted that it was much larger and softer than any man's should have been.

He had to know, now and frantically opened the kimono to reveal-- two large perky breast. And then, she screamed.

Shesshomaru smiled slyly and crossed over to his still stunned..."brother". "You're not happy with your new body, sister?"

Inu-Yasha's eye twitched at that. She quickly closed her kimono and looked at her brother with rage building in her eyes. "you, you, you---fucking PRICK!!!" she screamed and launched herself at him.

She had still been sitting while Sesshomaru had been standing which gave him ample time to dodge the attack and he produced another flask from within the folds of his kimono.

"If you wish to try your luck, dear sister, I have another flask. You never know, " he taunted. Inu-Yasha roared and lunged again at Sesshomaru. This was about the time that it occurred to Sesshomaru, a little too late, that as a girl, Inu-Yasha was still quite formidable. She was also much, much faster.

The second flask broke open as Sesshomaru blocked Inu-Yasha's blows with it and the water sprayed mercilessly over his body. For a moment, had you been watching, you would have seen a look of surprise and dread flashing across Sesshomaru's face as he felt the water spray him.

Inu-Yasha landed past Sesshomaru and shook his fists in frustration that she had missed. She turned back toward Sesshomaru , ready to go at him again, but her rage fell away when she saw that Sesshomaru was gone and only his clothes and his sword remained.

"Ah? Where'd ..... where'd he go?" asked the girl Inu-Yasha. She knelt down by the abandoned kimono and looked closely at it noting that part of it was moving. With a wry look on her face, she reached for the Tetsusaiga, which had been dropped nearby. He poised the old blade above the clothing, broad side over the kimono and when a certain confused looking head popped out, Inu-Yasha first stared at it for a moment, and then whacked it harshly on the head with the sword.


	3. Kagome the Samaritan: Sesshomaru's rescu...

Inu ½

Chapter 3

Kagome the Samaritan: Sesshomaru's Rescue

Kagome hummed to herself as she lugged her giant backpack toward the mini-shrine.

"Leaving already?" asked Sota as Kagome paused in the genkan to put her shoes on. He was holding a popsicle in one hand and his other hand was shoved in his pocket.

Kagome nodded. "Yup. I told Inu-Yasha that Id be back today and he gets kinda cranky if Im late." She slid into her loafers without much trouble and tried to hoist her massive bag onto her shoulders.

"Oh!" Sota held the popsicle in his mouth and went over to her to help lift the bag.

"Thanks," Kagome said as it was put in its proper place.

Sotas hand went to the popsicle and he removed it. "No problem, Sis."He looked a bit sheepish for a moment. "Um... Tell Inu-Yasha Hello for me."

Kagome eyed him. "Hes not a friend, you know."

Sota backed up. "I know, I know, but he watches out for you-- he doesnt have to ...."

Kagome scoffed inwardly, thinking, _Yes, he does, Im his precious shard detector. _But what came out of her mouth was, "I know. Ill tell him. Bye, bye, Sota!" she said as she skipped out the door.

Sota waved. "Tell mom and Gramps Ill be back after a while!"

Kagome jumped down the stairs and made her way to the shrine that housed the bone eaters well. He did protect her. Sota was right. And that last time, with the funky mask, hed actually been kind of heroic.

_Maybe,_ she thought as she lifted her leg over the edge of the well. She sat down on it looking into the blackness. _Maybe hes really not such a bad guy,_ she thought and with that, she shoved off into the well.

_Or maybe I was wrong..._ she thought flatly as she emerged in the feudal era and saw Inu-Yaasha beating up a puppy.

"Inu-Yaasha! SIT!" she yelled as she hefted the backpack over the lip of the well and placed it on the ground. She scrambled out of the well and rushed over to the bloody broken mess of a dog that Inu-Yasha had been pummelling only moments before.

Inu-Yasha managed to get "Ka-Kagome..." out of her mouth as she was coming to grips with the fact that as much as "sit" hurt, "sit" with breasts (which were currently squished into the ground) hurt more.

"F- Frikkin moron!" she started to yell, which would have been the beginning of several minutes worth of swearing except that she realized that then Kagome might notice that fact that her voice was different and _that_ would lead to the realization that something _else_ was different...

So, the girl-type Inu-Yasha chose to keep her mouth shut and count her blessings that Kagome wouldnt find out.

Kagome leaned over the puppy on the ground. "Poor thing," she cooed almost in tears.

The puppy was about the size of a small cat. Its fur was snow white and curly around the ends with purple stripes on his face and legs. On his forehead he bore a purple cresant moon. His eyes, although they were threatening to close, were the same gold color as Inu-Yashas. Its white fur was streaked as discolored with blood.

The puppy growled at her threateningly as she tried to touch it and Kagome recalled that wounded animals get defensive but she couldnt bear to letthe poor thing sit there dieing. She looked at Inu-Yasha, who still had his face to the ground (he was avoiding looking up, afraid she would notice the change in him) and set her face in a determined frown.

"I dont know what the hell is the matter with you, but theres no excuse for this, " she hissed and ran to her bag looking for something to wrap the puppy in.

Inu-Yasha began to "explain" in his usual manner, forgetting his voice in his anger: "Stupid woman--you dont know--"

"SIT" she said flatly, not noticing anything except the infrequent whines of the puppy.

Kagome found a blanket within the bag and brought it out quickly and then proceeded to go back to the puppy.

Next to it, Inu-Yasha twitched spasmodically and although he was getting more pissed by the second, he had to console himself with the fact that if Kagome kept "sit"-ing him, shed never see him in this incredibly embarassing form.

The puppy growled at Kagome again and snapped at her, but soon found that this action caused it emense pain and resigned itself to being looked over by the human.

Kagome carefully wrapped the blanket around it and held it to her chest. She then rose and made her way back over to the well.

Kagome turned an icy eye to Inu-Yasha, who was beginning to lift his head. "Im going back home. Dont follow me."

_She **Wouldnt**,_ he thought in alarm. _**Not** with Sesshomaru!_

_"_K-Kagome, ya moron!" he began yelling again in worry.

This time she noticed his voice, but was in no mood to care and uttering on last, "sit", she leapt into the well.

"B-BITCH!!!" he yelled as loud as he could.

Kagome held the little dog close to her chest and was careful not to hurt it. In Inu-Yashas defense, the pup was the spitting image of what she imagined Sesshomaru would have looked like as a puppy (not that shed ever imagined that...), but looking like the homicidal asshole wasnt a crime.

"Inu-Yasha..." she growled spitefully.

_So that is why he allows himself to be led around by a mere human..._ thought Sesshomaru. Hed never seen the "sit" in action before and had been thoroughly surprised when it had happened. if he wasnt in so much pain, it would have been hilarious. And the well. Why had she jumped into the well? He didnt understand and thinking about it was giving him a minor headache.

As much as he hated to admit it, and he hated it very much, if the human hadnt shown up he probably would have died. He felt the jar of a landing as Kagome hit ground and yelped as his body was wracked with pain. He realized he might still die and his vision began to blur as he lay pressed against her, drifting off into a sleep and admitting to himself that she had a somewhat pleasant and comforting smell.

"Sota-a-a-a!!!!" she yelled in tears. The boy was just finishing his popsicle (it had only been a few minutes) and was still loitering around the genkan, debating about going outside when he heard the wail of his older sister.

....._Sis?_... he thought, _Shes back so soon...and her voice... its not right... She sounds worried..._

He slid into his sandals and headed for the wellhouse.

The wellhouse was cooler than the rest of the courtyard and the house, too, and if it werent so darn creepy in there, it would have been a great place to spend time in the hazey heat of summer. He could see why Buyo was always sneaking in there.

He reached the wooden landing around the paraimeter and clomped down the wooden steps coming to a halt on the hard dirt floor. He leaned over the edge of the well half expecting to see Inu-Yasha draped over her shoulders and missing some limbs.

"Sis!" he got out between breaths. "Are you okay? Whats going on?"

"Take him!" she yelled holding up the bundle. "Carefull!"

Sota, not a little confused, grabbed the bundle in her outstretched arms.

"Op! Heavy," he whined as he took the dog.

Kagome began to climb up.

"What is it?" he asked, carefully lifting the edge of the blanket. "A _dog_?!?"he asked in surprise.

Kagome came over to the edge and motioned to have the dog given back to her. She nodded as Sota gently transferred the bundle back into her hands. "We have to take him to the vet."

"But hes not even our dog!" said Sota as Kagome began to run up the stairs and out the door.

Sota paused for a moment, thought and then ran after her calling, "Wait up, sis!"

He caught up with her as she reached the gates to the shrine and began to run alongside her. "Does...(huff) does Inu(huff) Yasha...know... you...came...back?..."

".....Inu-Yasha?" Her face hardened. "Hmph! I could care less if he knows or not," she said icily.

_Yikes_, thought Sota as they ran and he quickly made a mental note to avoid the topic of Inu-Yasha for a while.

"A few broken ribs, some contusions, possibly a concussion and his left front leg is broken. Theres a lot of swelling and quite a few nasty lacerations. they shouldnt need stitches, though. Did he get mauled by a wild animal?" asked the vet as he administered a painkiller to the dog which had recently begun to twitch and whine even in his sleep.

Kagome laughed nervously. "You _could_ say that..." she said scratching her head.

Sota peeked over the table at the puppy. "But he should be okay, right?" asked the little boy, hopefully.

The veteranarian nodded. "Mm. Just try to keep him from moving around too much for a while. It shouldnt be too hard--hell be in a lot of pain. Make sure he eats and bring him back for a check-up in two weeks."

Kagome shook her head in agreement as did Sota, and the two of them bowed and said, "Thank you!" simultaneously and with equal enthusiasm and relief.

"Ive gone ahead and given him his first rabies vaccination was well." The vet picked a clip-board up from the table and tucked it under his arm. "Talk to Sakura at the front desk before you go and make an appointment for 2 weeks from now."

The two children nodded and Kagome gently slid the puppy off the table and into her arms.

Sesshomarus eyes opened slowly and he quickly blinked them shut again as they were assailed by an inordinantly bright light. His head exploded into a series of painfull firework-like burts and he growled menacingly.He opened them again slowly and found himself within the folds of a soft blanket. He was comfortable, despite being achy and having his offended ribs groan with pain at every breath. There was pressure on his leg and he tried to move to a position where he could see it, but found that it simply made him hurt more.

He stared angrily at the wall, defeated by this own body and growled in frustration. Even that hurt so, after a bit, he gave up and, for the first time, noticed that the room he was in wasnt normal.

Sesshomaru looked as best he could without moving. He was on a fabric covered platform or table of some sort and there was another table, this one made of wood, and a miniature throne across from it. On the table were books and a strange looking matal trough on a stick. He wondered if maybe it wasnt alive, as it had a vine growing out of the side of it. He tried to see where this vine led to, as he could see no dirt on the ground, just tatami mats, but he couldnt find it from the bed (for that was really where he was).

Next to the table and throne (desk and chair) was a strange, but recognizable vanity. This was a womans room. He knew that already because the cushiony surface he was residing on stank of the girl who had brought him there, but it was odd to see something familiar in the otherwise thoroughly foreign room.

Sesshomaru turned his eyes toward the ceiling, craning his neck the slightest bit, to see where the light was coming from. It certainly wasnt coming through the window, as he could see it was pitch black outside.

The source of the light turned out to be a strange rectangular box with a string hanging from it. It was casting off a rather even glow. He looked at it for quite a while.

Several feet from the end of the bed was a door. Sesshomaru noted this with mild interest (which is the most he is usually capable of mustering) and made a resolve ot use it as soon as he could walk again. It stood slightly ajar and he could hear the sounds of the houses residents, his sharp ears picking up four distinctly different voices, although he recognized only one.

_That girl..._ he thought. _Shes here..._ He tried to pick out her voice fromt he rest--hear what she was saying. It was a way to pass the time, at least.

Sesshomaru listened intently for a bit, noting that his hearing was not quite up to par, but still fair, and he heard a myriad of new sounds (although the shrine is quiet, its hard ot keep the sounds of the city from creeping in and each of them was new to Sesshomaru) but couldnt be distracted from his task of desiphering the girls voice from those of the other house inhabitants.

Quite suddenly, the door, which Sesshomaru had had his eyes fixed on, creaked ever so slightly and he lost his concentration in favor of the new and potentially more interesting situation that was developing. A brown fuzzy paw scrabbled under the door and widened the opening. It was withdrawn soon after and followed by a fur-covered muzzle. A tubby feline silently moved the door on its hinges until it could fit trough and then proceeded to sniff the air.

Sesshomaru tensed as he realized he would be at the creatures mercy and wondered why the addle-brained girl hadnt safe-garded against such a thing.

The cat waggled its rear a bit and then leapt onto the bed with a giant flop that sent a shockwave roilling through the mattress. Sesshomaru yelped in surprise and not a little bit o f pain as the sudden movement reached him. The large cat padded over to him and looked at his face.

Sesshomaru growled, showing his teeth, but the cat seemed unphased and flopped down beside him, shutting its eyes. It was sleeping and purring in seconds.

Sesshomaru stared at it, bewildered. The cat was stupid.

After he was thoroughly satisfied that the feline would leave him alone, he began to think back to what had happened.

Right after he had realized hed been hit by the magic water, a gamut of things had run through his head, not the least of which was the thought that he would soon be sporting a new pair of boobs just like his little brother. He had become incredibly surprized when he had begun to shrink.

Alarm had run through his brain as he had tried to figure out what was going on, when the whole world just sort of fell away and he found had himself inside the slippery silk of his kimono.

He had struggled to get out, nosing around, pushing here and there, and when he finally fought his way out, who should be staring at him but his brother, Inu-Yasha and she had promptly whacked him over the head with the flat side of the Tetsusaiga. It had still hurt and he had growled which resulted in yet another whack with the sword. For each time he growled, he was given a quick and hard, but not too hard, whack on the noggin. It might have ended there, with a few lumps and bruises and neither brother really hurt, but Sesshomaru bit Inu-Yasha-chan and she had proceeded to punch him for every bite he gave her. That is until he somehow managed to bite one of her newly acquired breasts.

Maybe it was the fact that her kimono had fallen partially open again, or the fact that they stuck out the farthest. Or maybe it had just been pure malice on the part of Sesshomaru, who had noted that they were probably very sensitive. In any case, after that Inu-Yasha-chan lost her already somewhat fragile temper and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him. He didnt think Inu-Yasha had really meant to hurt him so badly. His brother was stupid that way. Soft. If Sesshomaru had had an opportunity to rid himself of someone that annoyed him, he would take it . Thats what set them apart. That and his belief that humans were worthless. He was slowly ammending that value, however.

Beside him the cat stretched and yawned. There were footsteps coming toward the room and the cat rose.

The black-haired girl yanked the door open with one hand. In her other hand was a two-trayed dish. "BUYO!" she hissed and the cat hopped off the bed and trotted to her legs which it rubbed its head against lovingly.

"Dont give me that," she said hottly. "You leave that poor puppy alone. He needs his rest."

the cat looked at her for a minute.

"Go on," she said and she tilted her head toward the door. Buyo padded out of the room and into the hallway. She slammed the door shut behind him.

Sesshomaru watched the girl. She was pretty, but he couldnt see anything special about her. His brother couldnt be that shallow, could he? This was definately the same insect he had seen him with when his arm had gotten cut off. Then again, they always seemed to be fighting, and when hed almost killed her, Inu-Yasha hadnt seemed too broken up about it.

Kagome set the dog-dish shed been carrying down on the bed before Sesshomarus nose. There was some kind of smelly square stuff in one tray and water in the other. Sesshomaru looked at it and then at the girl as if to say, _Youre showing this to me, why exactly?_ Kagome faltered a bit and smiled. "Come on-- eat!" she said pushing it a little closer.

_The proximity is not the problem!!! _he wanted to scream. Sesshomaru turned his head away from the offending dish and Kagome let out a sigh. She held out her hand, fingers curled under a little and Sesshomaru sniffed it almost on reflex. She then moved the same hand gently onto this head and stroked his fur. This Sesshomaru responded to with a low growl and a look that said, _If I could reach you, I would kill you_. She paused for a moment but its hard to be intimidated by a puppy and she scratched behind his ears instead.

Sesshomaru responded in the previous manner for about a minute before the pain of growling got to him and then he lay silent, still bristling with anger that she dared to touch him.

It took all of ten minutes before he realized that it was rather soothing and that he actually enjoyed it. That was about the time she said, "What should we name you, hm?"

Sesshomaru opened his eyes slightly to look at her and then shut them again. It didnt matter what she named him--he would never respond to it.

"Somehting thatll really piss off that jerk, Inu-Yasha..." she said a little angrily, as she thought aloud. His eyes opened, suddenly interested.

"How bout... Sesshomaru? You look like him, you know," Kagome smiled sweetly and Sesshomaru felt his heart speed up a bit, which confused him thoroughly. Kagome laughed. "Naw. No way. I hate that guy." Sesshomaru tensed. "Hm... hm hm... it fits, though..." She shook her head. "NO. If theres anyone I hate more than that idiot Inu-Yasha, its his idiot half-brother." She had paused in her ear scratching momentarily.

"You do look like him , though..." she mused and began to scratch his head again. "Maru-chan..."

The fact that she hated him made him feel strange and he wondered what she would do if she found out who she was sharing her bed with. Realizing what he was thinking about made him angry. He shouldnt care whether she hated him or not.

"Whadda ya say, Maru-chan?" asked Kagome, thinking she was clever. Sesshomaru acknowledged her with a glance. She was scratching his head and it was having a sort of lucid effect on him. For tonight, he would rest and let her worry about names for him to ignore, and scratch his head. _Tomorrow_, he would start finding out how to regain his form and do imprtant things like eat and maybe kill something. Not neccessarily in that order. Hed be needing a way to work out his aggression, anyway.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes. If he hadnt have wanted the Tetsusaiga so badly (and a little revenge on his brother for humiliating him that last time and taking off his arm) this never would have happened. Had he not been injured severely, he would probably have gone off in determination seeking a way to remedy his plight, or at the very least he would have blaimed the whole incident on his brother and sworn to return and kill him. **But**, the fact remained that he **_had_** been injured, and badly, at that, and that put a large stopping block in the way of his quest to regain his form. It _also_ afforded him time to think, and, right then, he was thinking that the whole thing was his fault.

He wasnt at the point of being all, "Hey, lets let bygones be bygones. Whadda ya say?", but he was at the very least a little regrettful and thought that maybe he could find something more pressing to deal with in the future than getting the Tetsusaiga all the time. He _was_, after all, a demon lord and his kingdom had been sorely neglected since he had started on his quest to get the Tetsusaiga. Maybe he could give harassing his brother a rest for a little while (Not that he had a choice. Lets face it-- a puppy isnt the most intimidating thing on the planet.).

He also wondered absently if Inu-Yasha could use the well as the girl had and suppposed that he could find out eventually. Hadnt the girl yelled for him not to follow her? That indicated that he could and maybe had frequently done just that. Sesshomaru wondered if _he_ could, provided he could drag his broken puppy ass down there.

He decided to investigate it after he felt a bit better and drifted off to sleep yet again under Kagomes delicate fingers.

(Letters from the author have been moved to the end of each chapter to keep from disrupting the flow... I'm keeping them because they remind me of what I was doing at the time... I didn't have a live journal or a blog at the time which is where this superfluous crap would otherwise have ended up.)

Letter from the Author (Ill try to be brief!)

Hey- before this chapter gets underway, I thought Id fill you in a little--for one thing, my chapters are really short--this is because I want to get the story up as fast as possible and typing in little spurts helps. The other thing is that you may notice, even though the chapters are short, Im getting them up fairly quickly. This is because Ive already written about 50 pages of this thing by hand. translating it into type and continuing the story at the same time is a bit daunting so Im trying to get the whole thing on the computer so I can work ONLY on the comp. and get it done, hopefully, twice as fast. This is hard to do since I keep writing about 15 or so pages every day and getting further and further behind. Alas...

The other thing I wanted to say was that I mentioned a genkan. This is the place before you go into Japanese houses where you take your shoes off. There isnt really a translation for it, so Im using the real word.

Anyhoo, thank you for the support and I hope to have some more of the story up soon. Jya-ne!

Manekochan


	4. Coming To Grips: Inu-Yasha's decision

Inu ½

Chapter 4

Coming to Grips: Inu-Yasha's decision

Inu-Yasha spat dirt out of his mouth. There was a look of rage on his face and scratches covering most of his body including those brand-new, soft, and delicate bulges of tissue on his chest. He shook with frustration and there were almost tears in his eyes. _Her_ eyes, actually. She pushed herself up off the ground and shook her kimono, the prayer beads knocking annoyingly against her chest, reminding her of her new embarrassment.

_"I'm going back home. _Don't_ follow me."_ Kagome's order ran through her head and she sneered in typical Inu-Yasha fashion.

"Feh," scoffed the dog-demon as she headed over to the well and leapt into the air. _Don't follow my ass,_ she thought bitterly as she was coming down over her square target.

That's when she remembered that the ultimate embarrassment would be immediately following her arrival in Kagome's world. And Sesshomaru, if he was still conscious, would be there to witness it. She spread out her legs and arms, catching the edges of the well before she went in and strained to stay in that precarious position until she could get enough leverage to push herself up and away.

She landed on the ground with a soft thud and fell on her rear. "Son of a frikkin--" she muttered, rubbing her hind quarters in contempt. The new body had a new center of balance and would take some getting used to.

Inu-Yasha bit her lip and punched the ground, tears stinging her eyes again. _Damn that stupid girl..._ she thought bitterly. There was no way she was going after Kagome until she was a he again. Kagome didn't even have to know. But, the thought of Sesshomaru there with her in a deceptively sweet and cute form made her blood boil in her veins.

That settled it. She stood up. _I need to find out all I can about this stupid spell and I only know one person in this time period who has half a brain, _she thought.

Inu-Yasha headed over to the now normal Tetsusaiga, picked it up and put it in its scabbard. She looked at Sesshomaru's kimono and fur wrap lying on the ground next to a sword.

_Hm..._ The thought crossed her mind to examine the sword, since she could no longer hold the Tetsusaiga, and she ventured over to the heap of silk and the sword picking it up.

The sword, as it turned out, was remotely heavy and Inu-Yasha hefted it from hand to hand feeling the nice weight. She swung it with ease and with a smile on her face, tucked it under the same cord that held the Tetsusaiga close to her hip. She then looked reluctantly at Kagome's over inflated bag and again at Sesshomaru's clothing, growled deeply and meaningfully and then picked up the silk kimono and other garments along with the fur wrap Sesshomaru was always wearing, and headed over to the backpack, shoving the items in. Inu-Yasha slung the bag over one shoulder, the fur wrap billowing out of the opening in the top of the bag, and took off for the woods, hoping like hell she could reach the village without anyone seeing her.

Kaede sighed as she heard the noise again. It was well into the night before Inu-Yasha would venture out from the forest. She was in fear that her new body would be the laughing stock of the village and her fragile ego couldn't handle being jostled about by so many humans, so there she sat, on the outskirts of the forest hidden in some bushes lobbing little rocks and tree branches at Kaede's hut in hopes that the old bat would get the idea and go investigate.

Inu-Yasha's patience began to wear thin when she heard footsteps crunching on the ground, slowly advancing toward the back of the hut and Kaede came into view holding a brightly glowing torch.

Inu-Yasha swallowed hard and then gruffly said, "Old woman--what kept you?"

A rustle of leaves and a few moments later and Inu-Yasha was standing before the old woman, one clawed hand tightly gripping the strap of the backpack. The fur wrap snagged on bushes and brittle grass whenever she moved and she longed to get rid of it not to mention Kagome's heavy load. What'd she have in there? _Bricks_?

Kaede's face went white as the half-breed stepped into the light. "Inu...Yasha?..." she cautioned.

The dog-demon somewhat sheepishly tugged at the backpack.

The fire crackled and hissed in its pit, dancing around and throwing shadows across the wall and light onto the faces of the hut's inhabitants. One such inhabitant seemed slightly annoyed at said fire for just such a reason and tried to keep out of the light as much as possible. There was a large lump in one of the corners of the hut which happened to be Kagome's bag. This was what Inu-Yasha stared at as she avoided Kaede's one eye.

Kaede was silent and in disbelief as she mulled over the story Inu-Yasha had told her. She was surprised that Inu-Yasha had allowed Kagome to take Sesshomaru with her. Should Sesshomaru regain his previous form the girl would be in more danger than they had ever imagined possible. Then again, from Inu-Yasha's story, it sounded like the puppy would be having a bit of trouble harassing anyone for a while. Kaede felt no sympathy for Sesshomaru, but the fact that he would be so vulnerable and Kagome would probably be his caregiver, scared her.

_This could change things immensely..._ she thought with apprehension. Who knew how long Sesshomaru would be in that form and what sort of attachment Kagome would form to him? _Worse still... that girl has a way of working her way into the most stubborn of hearts..._ she thought as she glanced at Inu-Yasha, who happened to be in silent contemplation at the moment. If Sesshomaru wasn't soon removed from Kagome's world, the two brothers would be fighting over more than the Tetsusaiga...(That is to say if Inu-Yasha would be honest with himself.)

Still. Why had he let her go? She sighed as she realized it was probably his stubbornness and pride, more than anything. He probably couldn't stand the thought of her seeing him as a girl. Which led her to think of something else-- why had she chosen to consult with her? If Inu-Yasha was asking a human for help, that meant that the situation was serious.

Kaede sighed and rubbed her temples. She stood up and began to pace slowly. Inu-Yasha watched her from the corner of her eye.

"Did you by any chance bring one of the flasks with you?" asked the old woman, finally. It would be a stretch, but Inu-Yasha was obviously desperate.

Inu-Yasha shook her head, no, and Kaede let out a sigh. "You did break one, though, correct?"

Inu-Yasha looked at her in confusion. "What are you getting at, Old Woman?" she huffed.

She was desperate, but obviously not enough to be polite. Kaede approached the now nervous dog-demon and looked at her hands. They were much more slender, but were still as calloused and hard as anyone's would be if they led Inu-Yasha's life.

The dog-demon noticed that she was being looked at funny, became very self-conscious and pulled the hands behind her back. "They're smaller now, o-_kay_? It's not a big deal," she said defensively.

Kaede stared at her and flatly said, "Hand."

Inu-Yasha reluctantly produced both hands for her to see.

"I don't get what the big idea is," she grumbled as Kaede examined.

_Inu-Yasha usually favors his right, so..._ Kaede took hold of the dog-girl's hand (although not without much protestation on her part) and stared at it intently for a bit. A dry look came across her face and she then plucked a long, thin splinter our of Inu-Yasha's palm.

"You didn't notice this?" she asked with an arch of one eyebrow.

Inu-Yasha looked at the sliver of pale wood. "Feh," she scoffed. "That tiny thing?" She shook her head. "No. What's it got to do with this stupid body, anyway, Granny?"

Kaede gave her a look. As bad as "Old Woman" was, "Granny" was worse. She let out a "huff" and turned away from the half-demon and toward the fire.

Inu-Yasha eyed her archly. "Oi--Granny--_Oi! _Dont tell me--" she started smugly, thinking shed hit a nerve.

"Inu-Yasha-" Kaede interupted. "Do you wish to remain in that body?" she asked as she neared the fire.

"Are you _senile_, Old Bat?!?" the exasperated dog-demon yelled. "**_Hell_ no!!!" **she said slamming her fists into the floor of the hut. "I'd rather die!"

"Then be still, or my spell won't take hold," Kaede said as she held the splinter over the fire.

Inu-Yasha held her tongue after Kaede's short but effective rebuke and watched the old woman's back as she began to mumble some words. Her sharp ears were able to catch them, even so, they were just gibberish to her.

Kaede dropped the splinter into the fire and it flared up with a yellow glow. It didn't last but a few seconds before it died back down again. It had startled Inu-Yasha (who'd have thought the little splinter would cause such a reaction?) who had had to stifle a yelp of surprise and jerked back a bit.

Inu-Yasha regained her composure and crept up behind the old woman asking quietly, "Oi--what'd it say, Old Woman?"

Kaede frowned. "It was no good."

Inu-Yasha's eyes opened wide and she let out a "hrk!", her kimono slipping a little off her shoulders.

She shut her eyes and through clenched teeth growled, " What...do... you...mean....?"

"It was too fast for me to catch. My eye isn't as good as it used to be--" she felt hands on her kimono as she was roughly turned around, still frowning.

Inu-Yasha got in the woman's face. "And you wasted it?!?!?" she demanded, frantically.

"Inu-Yasha," said Kaede flatly and calmly. "There was more of it you left behind, correct?"

Inu-Yasha thought for a moment, realized she was being silly and let go of Kaede's clothing. She started toward the door of the hut, mumbling, "I got it, I got it."

Kaede turned the broken flask over in her hands. The second one lay on the floor of the hut waiting for its turn to be examined.

With a sigh, she put it down. "I can feel nothing from it."

The dog-demon scoffed. "All talk, Granny? I coulda told you it was the water _inside_ the damn thing that was charged." She folded her arms.

Kaede frowned at the stubborn girl, yet again. "Hand me the second one." Inu-Yasha obeyed with a little reluctance and flippancy.

Kaede shook the flask back and forth for a moment. "There is still water in this one..."

"Hm?"

"A small amount," said the old woman. "Bowl, please." Inu-Yasha, gaining some interest, retrieved a bowl for her and stood over her shoulder.

"Oi--what're you going to do?"

Kaede answered her question by dumping the remainder of the water into the bowl and looking into it.

"Oi--what're you doing, Kaede Ba-ba." Kaede seemed to be ignoring her and this angered her a bit. "_Oi_--"she said again and poked the back of the woman's head. "**OI**--"

"I'm scrying, Inu-Yasha," said the old woman without looking back.

"Psh! Like you did in the fire, Old Woman?" she scoffed with a slight smirk and sat back on her haunches, determined to remain uninterested as she defiantly stared at the ceiling.

Kaede, glad to have some respite, continued to work on the scrying while Inu-Yasha eventually began to doze off and garner some much needed sleep.

"Mmm?" asked the dog-demon in a sleepy voice as Kaede said her name. Inu-Yasha looked at the old woman, a groggy haze over her eyes. She yawned largely and scratched her head as Kaede dipped a finger into the water, successfully breaking its surface, and the spell.

"Wha is it?" she asked with another yawn and was greeted with the foreign sound of her own voice. For a moment, she was shocked and her eyes went wide. Then she recalled what had happened earlier in the day and her face changed as she growled a low growl.

"I have found something," said the woman with a nod.

Inu-Yasha perked up at that and was at her side in a nanosecond. "Do tell," she said as a sort of command.

"The water is from far away--a foreign country. Probably China. It was taken from a spring," said Kaede as she picked up the bowl.

Inu-Yasha smacked her palm with her fist. "Hey! Old woman, you're actually _good_ for somethin! So your scrying told you all that?" she asked, a little impressed.

Kaede shook her head. "No."

"Eh?"

Kaede tossed the now empty flask to the dog-demon.

"What?" she asked as she caught it skillfully.

Kaede simply said, "Turn it over," and went on tidying up. Inu-Yasha complied and found a wad of paper with a thin layer of sap on the back stuck to the bottom of the flask. "Hrm?" she wondered as she impatiently straightened it. A look of contempt and confusion crossed her face. _Does she think I can actually _read_ this? Stupid old codger. _"Old Woman-- what's this chicken scratch on here?" she asked waving the slip of paper around like a miniature flag.

Kaede stoked the fire in the pit between them and answered her. "It's Chinese and it says Spring of Drowned Duck."

Inu-Yasha blinked a few times, looked at the paper, turned it upside down, and then right side up again, shook her head, wadded it up and threw it at the old woman who caught it with more ease than Inu-Yasha had hoped.

Kaede smoothed it out again. "This makes things more complicated," she said as she looked at it again.

"How so? I know it came from China, so I'll just go to China," Inu-Yasha said with a shrug and a sneer.

"Inu-Yasha-- there were other flasks of water--else, why would we have that label? It should say girl or puppy, if I'm not mistaken," said the old woman with a serious stare.

"Yeah, yeah. That's someone _else's_ problem, not mine," she replied as she headed toward the door. "I'm getting out of here before anyone notices me," she said peeking out of the flap and noting that the sky was graying--a sure sign that morning would be soon on them.

"And Kagome?"

That stopped the dog demon as she had one foot almost out the door.

There was a pause that was just long enough to make her feel uncomfortable and awkward and rue that she had allowed a pause at all. After she came to her senses, she demanded gruffly, "What _about_ her? If she comes back through the well, just give her her crappy bag and tell her you haven't seen me."

"Inu-Yasha--" started Kaede.

As an afterthought, she added, "It's none of her business and I'll have it fixed before I see her again."

_Was that resolve I heard in her voice?_ thought Kaede with a smirk.

This, Inu-Yasha noticed. "**What the hell are you smilin about Old Woman?!?**"

"Heh. Nothing," she remarked with closed eyes. "Have a safe trip."

"Mn," replied Inu-Yasha, which was as close to a sincere "thank you" that Kaede had ever received from the half-breed. She pushed her way out of the hut and offered her own goodbye--"Dont die or nuthin." And with that, Inu-Yasha was gone from the jut and Kaede let out a sigh.

She was relieved that shed been able to suppress her feelings. She knew that Inu-Yasha could smell fear, among other things, on people and every human emotion had a distinct smell to one with so sensitive a nose as Inu-Yasha's.

She hadn't seen the past by scrying, that was true. But, she hadn't told the girl that she had seen the present-- and a most unsettling present it was-- in Kagome's world. She also hadn't told her that shed seen the future. The first thing shed seen, after shed been staring into the water so long her head began to hurt, was a scene of Kagome lying in bed with the dog she assumed was Sesshomaru. Inu-Yasha would have been gone to her world in no time if shed seen that. The second scene was one of great worry and had Kagome lying dead. The third, a kiss between Sesshomaru and Kagome, with Sesshomaru in his humanoid form, of course, and the last scene, one of equal concern, was Inu-Yasha lying dead at Sesshomaru's feet. At the last scene she had accidentally called Inu-Yasha's name and the girl had begun to stir. She had hurridly broken the spell and tried to compose herself, reciting over and over in her head that premonitions were only _possible_ futures and not necessarily unavoidable. It was also impossible to tell in what order they occurred or the circumstances behind them.

_Well,_ she thought, _if Inu-Yasha is in China, then Sesshomaru can't kill him,_ and with that thought in mind she went to make her futon and turn in.

_Kaede Ba-ba..._ Inu-Yasha thought sourly. _Something was up. She hid it damn good, but I got the slightest hint of it as I was leaving. Stupid old woman. It better not be important._ Inu-Yasha raced through the forest that was past the village, hoping to find a cave to sleep in or something for the day. Shed be traveling by night from now on, just in case anyone might recognize her.

At the outskirts of the forest there was a cave. It would be a gamble staying in a place so close to the road and potentially full of humans, but it was the only cave she knew of in the area and it was still a bit out of the way. So, keeping those thoughts in mind, she settled in at the back of the cave, leaned her head against the wall and, by and by, drifted off into a light sleep.


	5. Kagome's Plan: Maru-chan versus the cage

Inu ½

Chapter 5

Kagome's Plan: Maru-chan versus the cage

Morning dawned and the sounds of morning came with it, bringing about unfamiliar noises and much clomping about in the rest of the house. Sesshomaru awakened slowly as something next to him moved. He wondered what could possibly be so brazen and stupid as to annoy him in his castle chambers and resolved to behead them as soon as he was up.

Then, it dawned on him. Sesshomaru opened his eyes quickly, becoming fully awake. The previous day came back to him as he was poked playfully in the nose by a smiling, gushy young girl as she cooed, "Good morning!" and with that same hand, ruffled the fur on top of his head. He sat in shock, not used to being assailed by cute girls so early in the morning (or ever, for that matter).

The girl moved away from him toward her dresser and proceeded to change out of her pajamas and into her school uniform. Sesshomaru tried to ignore her, but found that he was slightly interested in spite of himself, and turned his gaze toward her after a bit. He did so in enough time to see her about to change her undergarments but she stopped, feeling eyes on her and with a little nervous laugh, she became self-conscious, picked up her pajama top and brought it to her chest, successfully covering everything of importance. She walked toward the bed and said, "Sorry,--you Dont wanna see this, anyway," and gently put the top over him, obstructing his view.

As Kagome changed her clothes and got into her customary school uniform she thought about the puppy. _His stare really freaked me out. I know he's just a puppy, but that was just too weird..._

Having completed the dressing ritual she crossed the room again and removed the pajama top, which she folded and slid into the crook of her arm.

"All done," she chimed with a smile and she scratched his head again.

Sesshomaru blinked at her and looked at her, regarding her coolly and determined not to enjoy the scratching. He was failing miserably at it and about to give in and take another nap under her soothing fingers, but she suddenly ended it with a pat on the head and then moved to her vanity to brush her hair.

The door of the room opened and there was a small boy. He peeked around the edge and said, "Sis? Can I come in?"

The girl turned to the door, "Ah! Sota. Sure. Just Dont mess with anything--and knock next time," she added remembering that moments before she had been in her underwear.

"Alright!" he said enthusiastically bursting into the room. "How is he? Has he eaten anything yet?"

Sota crouched at the edge oif the bed and reached a hand out to touch the dog. Sesshomaru watched the hand closely, debating about how close to let the boy get before issuing a warning growl, or if he would at all.

Kagome caught a look at them in the mirror and turned around setting her brush down.

"Scratch his head--he likes that," she said with a smile.

Sotas hand drew nearer and Sesshomaru finally decided that no warning would be sufficient and snapped at the boy's fingers.

Sota let out a "Kyaa!" and reared back in alarm. "He tried to bite me!" he exclaimed, exasperated, and thoroughly surprised.

"Tried to bite me , too," said the girl coming over to the bed again. "You should have seen the show he put on last night, but he's a big softy at heart, I think." She put her hand on his head. This, accompanying her stinging speech made Sesshomaru somewhat annoyed. The _human_ had called him soft. He gave her a harsh look that made her blood run cold and she suddenly felt very silly and small.

Sesshomaru struggled in the blankets trying to get free of them and only hurting his leg. He stopped after a few minutes and lay panting, resigning himself to the fact that his body wouldn't permit it.

_How humiliating..._ he thought bitterly. _To think that I, _Shesshomaru, am_ indebted to and dependant on these humans who I should so easily be able to destroy. One of which is my brother's _bitch. (As in female dog. Shesshomaru thinks crass language is below him)

_How long must I endure this? _he wondered.

The black-haired girl, recovering from his weird stare, and noticing his previous struggles, unwrapped the blanket for him.

"He _could_ fall off the bed, you know, " added the little boy. What was his name? Soda?

The girl shook her head. "I Dont think he'll be going anywhere." And _her_ name. He had heard it once or twice after the half-breed had beaten him senseless, but he couldn't remember it. K-something. Why the _hell_ was he trying to remember their names, anyway?!?

"Sis, we should put him on the floor before you go to school. It's not safe with no one here to watch him. Right, Chester?" She had to leave, this girl? He hadn't thought of that. He would be alone all day. And what made the idiot boy think he couldn't take care of himself? The girl--was her name "Sis"? Or was that some bizarre abbreviation of the word sister? And who was "Chester"?

Sis looked at Sofa wryly. "'_Chester'?_'" she asked with an arch look on her face.

Sofa laughed a little. "Doesn't fit does it? How about naming him after Inu-Yasha?"

That brought looks of contempt from the girl and the puppy both and the black-haired girl set her face into one of smoldering, seething hatred as the words," jerk, moron, loser, idiot," and much more unladylike phrases, ran through her head.

The puppy, for his part, had begun a low internal growl--barely audible, but still a tad unnerving.

Sofa scratched his own head. "Guess that's out..."

"Darn right. _Any_way, he has a name **So-ta**," she said, carefully pronouncing and emphasizing each of the syllables. "It's Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru thought he would die. His heart began to beat threateningly fast in his ribcage. Did she really know? Had she known all along? His face blazed with heat as he remembered her undressing in front of him, teasing him, patting his head and patronizing him. _I will kill her._

"Ne? _Ma_ru-_chan--?" _she sing-songed with a smile as she put her face near his and kissed his nose.

Sesshomaru was shocked back into reality. She had no idea. She tousled the fur on his head and gave him another smile.

"_Maru_-chan...?" asked the kid Sota with a slight sneer. Someone's_ been watching too much Kodocha..._ he thought in annoyance. (Atd be me. manekochan.:9) "Kago-o-o-o-me-e-e-e..." he whined. "That's too cheesy..."

_Chi-zi? ..._ thought Sesshomaru as he tried to sit up. With a little bit of effort and quite a bit of pain, he somehow managed it. The brunt of the pain was coming from his left leg. He silently cursed the weakling he'd stolen it from. His ribs, along with his cuts were much better and his swelling had gone down considerably, proving that, even in this form, his demon powers could not be com_pletely_ dissipated.

_Still_, he thought irately. _Why should that half-breed brother of mine still retain his full power while I am a mere shadow of my former glory? Is it because I changed species and he merely changed genders? _he wondered quietly.

The black-haired girl scratched his head again. "Are you hungry, Maru-chan?"

Sesshomaru looked at her for a moment while Sota went on about how the food dish was on her desk and debated about retrieving it, which he finally did anyway.

Sota set the food down in front of the puppy and pushed it close.

Sesshomaru looked at the two squares full of food and drink archly. The smell assaulted him. It wasn't entirely unappealing. Except maybe to his pride. He turned his nose up at it in disgust.

Sota thought for a moment. "Maybe he doesn't like this kind of thing... I could go get him some left over sukiyaki from last night's dinner..." he said, making as if to go.

"No way," said the girl flatly. "He's got to learn to eat what he's given. If we give him _real_ food he'll get spoiled rotten." She added a nod for emphasis.

Sota sighed and sat back down a bit dejectedly. Sesshomaru thought smugly about how he didn't need food. He was a demon. He could go for weeks without eating, should he desire to, and in this case, he did.

Then, his stomach growled.

His eyes went wide. That _was a new sound... _he thought in a little alarm and was it happened again, this time followed by the feeling that his stomach was eating itself and an intense feeling of hollowness. He felt more hungry at that moment than all the hundred odd years of his life. Suddenly, the food in the bowl didn't look quite so bad and he sniffed it slightly. That had been a mistake. He might have been able to resist a _little_ longer had he not made done it. After that, however, there was no stopping him and he swallowed his pride and began to eat.

The girl clasped her hands happily and the boy said, " He must know how stubborn you are." Kagome gave him a look and he turned to the dog. "Shed let you starve before she let you have your way, " he whispered, obviously having seen her stubbornness first-hand.

Sesshomaru paused in his eating and looked at him. The girl, for her part, smacked the boy on the head.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for school, _So_ta?" she asked, archly.

Sota stood up and took a few steps back. "_I'm _not the one always missing school to look for a silly jewel, Ka_go_me. Worry about yourself--you're teachersll die of shock when you actually come to class for once."

"Boo-" said Kagome, sticking her tongue out.

"Nyah-nyah!" said Sota, jokingly and he skipped off into the hallway.

Kagome sighed, smiled, and took to stroking Sesshomaru's fur as he finished eating, lapped up some water, and lay his head on his legs.

With his legs uncovered, he could see that his left leg was in a splint of some sort on it, which explained the pressure he'd felt earlier. What had angered him earlier now seemed amusing as he realized he'd only just gotten used to having the use of his left arm before it had gotten ruined again. It figured he'd pick a weakling of a demon. he would have let out a short, bitter chuckle, if he could have.

"See now?" said the girl. (Kagome, wasn't it?) and she gave him a sweet smile. "It wasn't that bad."

Sesshomaru looked at her for a minute as she smiled, but her smile soon broke off as her thoughts drifted to Inu-Yasha. She sighed and began to scratch Sesshomaru's head. He was annoyed at how used he was getting to it and wondered silently if he would forever be stuck in the form. He thought briefly about resigning himself to his new life.

"That idiot Inu-Yasha..." sighed Kagome.

_Oh, yes. That idiot Inu-Yasha. I'd forgotten about him,_ he thought, letting his mind come back to his brother who would, no doubt, fly into a fit of rage if he saw what his woman was doing to him.

"I'm surprised he didn't follow me. He's always in such a hurry to get back to looking for those stupid Shikon shards," she vented. "He probably realized he was being a moron and is sitting around sulking and waiting for me to come back. "**_Well," she_** said, taking her hand off of Sesshomaru's head. "He'll have a long wait," she nodded, crossing her arms in defiance.

Kagome stood up, went over to her desk and, in a huff, began to look for something. Sesshomaru watched as her movements became more erratic and harried.

"Where the heck did I put that backpack?!?" she wondered aloud in an uncaused and thoroughly irritated voice when she suddenly lost her momentum and stared at the wall in disbelief.

"Aughhhh!" she yelled, turning red. "I left it on the other side of the well!" A moan of realization escaped her lips.

She hit her head with her hand. "Kagome, you numbskull... My math book was in there... my notebooks...my pencils... gragh!" She threw up her hands in disgust and then deflated with a sigh. "I guess it's back to the well--but I'm **not** staying," she said in determination, even though she knew full well that once she got there Inu-Yasha would try to drag her off again.

On the bed, before he even knew what he was doing, Sesshomaru had risen in protest, letting out a snort as he shakily got to his feet.

Kagome seemed oblivious to him and with the vigor of someone possessed, she began to head for the door when she heard a soft thud as if something had... fallen off... the... bed... _Oh, no_, she thought in half-alarm.

She turned around to see the puppy on the floor staring at her and giving her a look of indignation. He got to his feet again slowly, grimacing in pain all the while, and began a somewhat stilted walk until he was in front of her, blocking her path. he sat down and snorted in contempt.

Kagome was shocked at the display (although she would have been _catatonic_ if shed have known who the puppy _was_) and merely flopped down in front of him. "I forgot about you didn't I..." she said as she scratched his head absently. "I have to go... but I can't take you with me."

Sesshomaru wasn't sure why he wanted to go with her. Part of it was because he wanted to see how the well worked, and a bit of her world. He was understandably curious. Part of him, however, feared it was something _else_. Something that he didn't want to admit--like maybe, just _maybe_, mind you, he felt comfortable around her. That same part of him was in such fear of this that he wanted to go with her to his world if only to run away from her and never see her again. Out of sight, out of mind.

Sesshomaru stared at her with a stare that belayed a spirit with no intention of yielding.

"No way," she said shaking her head. "You're hurt and you're staying here. End of story."

Sesshomaru was shocked as he realized that the human's will matched his own in strength. He could feel it in her voice and knew that stubbornness would get him nowhere. Sota had been right. Matching wills with this girl had probably driven his brother to rage many times.

_A different tactic is needed..._ he decided, although he was loathe to attempt it, and, for perhaps the only time in his life since the age of 2, Sesshomaru whined. The rest of his pride died there and in his head, he swore all the curse words that he had heard Inu-Yasha utter over the years and resolved to kill at least one thing before the day was out.

The whine, however humiliating, had melted Kagome's determination and had the exactly desired effect as Kagome reasoned that if Maru-chan was with her Inu-crud-for brains-potty-mouth-Yasha would probably avoid her like the plague or at least give her another reason to stay at home longer. She also figured It'd give the puppy a chance to relieve himself, if needs be and after 5 minutes shed retrieved Buyo's pet carrier. The contraption met with a look of horror on Sesshomaru's face. _A **Cage**_?!?!?

He hadn't thought of that....

Tsuzuku (to be continued... dun dun dun!)

next: Chapter 6- a visit with Granny.


	6. To Grandmother's House We Go: Sesshomaru...

Inu ½

Chapter 6

To Grandmother's House We Go: Sesshomaru

There were many strange things in the kitchen, Sesshomaru noted. The giant white box? What was _that_ supposed to be? He stared at it from Kagome's side as she explained to her mother what was going on . Her mother was washing some vegetables and Sesshomaru turned his attention to her and the seemingly magical water spout that could be stopped with the turn of a knob. He shifted for a better view through the mesh at the end of his cloth prison, but her mother bent down to get a closer look at him as she dried her hands.

"Oh! He's cute," she cooed with the same enthusiasm as her daughter. "I could watch him_ for_ you, you know... If you take him back with you Inu-Yasha might get jealous," she teased with a smile.

Kagome turned red. "Stop it, Mom! It's not like that! Inu-Yasha's a big stubborn, chauvinistic jerk." She puffed up in frustration.

Her mother smiled gently and asked, "How long will you be?"

"10 MINUTES," she yelled as she hotly stormed out and right past her grandpa who said, "Well, good mor-.....ning.....Ka.....go........me..............?.................." and burst out into tears at her having ignored him.

Sesshomaru noted that old people in her world smelled the same as in his, much to his chagrin.

Kagome didn't afford him much time to look around as she bolted down the steps. It seemed the family owned a shrine. Over the tops of the surrounding trees Sesshomaru could see strange and enormous structures, which he guessed were buildings. The architecture was like none he'd ever seen and he became curious, but Kagome soon entered the well house and blocked them from view.

The well house was cool and smelled funny, like dirt and mildew, but Sesshomaru smelled other smells, too. The smell of Kagome was lingering about in the place as was the smell of the little boy, Sota, and the cat Buyo. The faint smell of her grandfather hung in the air along with the dissipating smell of osake and Kagome's blood. This he could barely smell and he wagered it would soon be gone.

And then there was another smell. A smell he well knew. It was obvious to him now that Inu-Yasha had gone through the well. Several times. In fact, he could say that his smell and Kagome's were the strongest in the place.

He tore his mind away from exploring the room with his senses and steeled himself for the journey through the well. He wasn't sure what to expect. The last time he hadn't been fully cognisent.

Kagome leapt into the well without much fanfare and _no_ hesitation, making Sesshomaru wonder how many times shed done it in the past and he felt a tiny pang of something akin to anger, but a little different. He knew that feeling. It'd been absent in him for quite a while, but it was back, as plain as day. It was jealously-- the same feeling he'd felt when the half-breed had been born. The same feeling he'd felt when he found out his brother got the Tetsusaiga and he got the lame Tensaiga. But why would he be feeling it now? Perhaps being a puppy had softened his demonic heart or perhaps it was simply the way the girl looked at him--like she really cared about. Not only that, but cherished him. No one had looked at him like that.... not since......

.....not since.....

_A young Inu-Yasha smiled sweetly at his older brother. The boy was only about 2 feet tall and looking quite funny in his kimono. It was a bit big for him and had a layer of dirt on it. This same dirt was on his face and he was proudly holding out to his brother some wild flowers with a clod of dirt attached to their roots. _

_Sesshomaru was in his early teens and looked down indignantly at the little white-haired brat and .... couldn't help but smile. Just a little, but that was all the tiny dog-demon had needed and he beamed back, positively glowing._

It had been so long ago that the two of them had been like real brothers. He had always resented him since the day he was born, but... the brat had won him over, eventually. The young Inu-Yasha had positively doted on Sesshomaru. He wondered bitterly if Inu-Yasha still remembered that.

Their fighting had begun as a way to make Inu-Yasha stronger, although he'd never told him. Sesshomaru had always been pushing the boy to the limits, and was surprise each time when the limits began to stretch farther and farther. Then one day, he realized that maybe he'd been pushing a little too hard--playing the game with a little bit of flippancy. He hadn't realized the boy took it so seriously until he realized Inu-Yasha had grown to hate him.

After that, it had been easy to forget that the man in front of him was the boy he had once loved and fighting became all that they knew. In the back of his mind, though, it was always there-- that fact that the person he had loved most, aside from his father, had grown to hate him--had in fact, abandoned him to a cruel world where no one and no thing saw him in the same light as that one small boy once had.

That had been the turning point. The point where Sesshomaru's grief became hate. The ungracious cur! How dare he hate him? He had only tried to make him strong enough to survive and what did he get in return? No thank yous and a nice lovely brawl every time they got together. Fine. He hoped their fights had hurt like hell, cutting deep into his soul-- not his body. That's where he had really wanted to wound him. He consoled himself with the fact that his brother was as lonely as he, possibly more so.

Until, that is, Kikyo, came along. She had ruined his carefully constructed revenge--had freed Inu-Yasha from his cage of loneliness-- or at least had been about to-- until she herself destroyed him.

And here he was with another human. His idiot brother would never learn. And not just _any_ other human. If the rumors were true, then this girl was the reincarnation of his first mistake. That was why Sesshomaru hadn't hesitated to kill her in the race for the Tetsusaiga. He had wanted to hurt his brother profoundly, but it seemed the half-breed wasn't attached to her yet, and from the way she spoke, she wasn't attached to him either. That had been a bit of a disappointment. Still, words and actions could be false, as he well knew. That was why he was now jealous. _And how did was he resurrected, anyway?..._ he thought. If he could have spoken he would have muttered it.

Kagome let out an, "oof!" as she came to land on the hard earth in the feudal era. She quickly thought to be a bit more careful with her noise. Her smell alone was usually more than enough to bring the dog-demon running. Sometimes she wondered if maybe he didn't simply sense her arrival, as he always seemed to be there waiting on her.

_Here comes the hurricane..._ she thought as she gently lifted the bag with "Maru-chan" in it onto the lip of the well and clambered up. She looked over the edge only to see that her bag was no longer there.

Rage began to silently build and she grumbled, "He can't possibly be that childish--" but then she remembered a little conversation she'd had with him by the side of a stream---"I meant get out of those weird clothes and get back into your own weird kimono!" "Why? Because I look like Kikyo?" "Fu--there's no connection." _He's like a middle schooler..._

Kagome stared flatly out across the grass and scratched her head with a sigh as she imagined the contents of her bag strewn across his forest in impossible to retrieve places. She hitched up the bag with Maru-chan in it and began her walk to Kaede's village.

Sesshomaru noted silently that all evidence of the previous day's fight was gone and wondered if Inu-Yasha had actually had some sense for once. He looked out he mesh window of the carrier and registered the path they were taking in his mental file. It was strange. The well was the only thing that was the same in both worlds that he could see. But the world that Kagome lived in was so strange and different from his own. Maybe it was the distant future?

They neared a village and Sesshomaru thought it was the one they were looking for as people began to shout hello to the girl and make a fuss yelling "Good Morning!" and such.

"Good Morning!" Kagome would wave back, and her anger went away in the presence of the friendly villagers.

She finally came to a hut, a rather large one as far as huts go, and knocked lightly on the wall near the flap.

"Lady Kaede?" she asked as she pushed the flap aside and entered the hut. Kaede was asleep on a futon on the floor and grunted when Kagome spoke.

Sesshomaru tried not to breath. The smell of the old woman was strong to him and then there was the Inu-Yasha's smell, which was a few hours old, neither of which were very pleasant to his sensitive nose. He quickly regretted having come with Kagome.

Kaede sat up and stared at the pet carrier. "What is that?" she half mumbled in her old woman's voice.

Kagome unzipped the bag just enough for Sesshomaru's head to fit out and the puppy nosed his way toward the opening, hoping for some fresh air, or, at least, a better view.

Kaede's eyes went wide. _That is the dog from the vision... and no doubt the one that Inu-Yasha is so worried about, _she thought quietly.

The puppy looked at her intensely, sensing that she knew his secret and mentally dared her to reveal it.

But, Kaede let out a little chuckle and said, "Cute." If he could have reached her, he would have bitten her. The old woman groaned and rose off of the futon. She began tidying up, putting her bedding away on a palate of wood kept for just such a purpose. What was the girl thinking? Bringing Sesshomaru with her was foolhardy at best and just downright dangerous at worst. She obviously had no idea who he was. "What's his name?" asked the old woman, making small talk.

"Sesshomaru," said Kagome with only a little hesitation.

Kaede faltered as she put the futon away, composed herself and replied, "That's nice. Does he like it?"

Kagome scratched the mutt's head, noticing that he was a bit tense-looking. It didn't help any, but she didn't notice. "I call him Maru-chan for short."

Kaede had to suppress a laugh. "Oh?"

Kagome nodded. Sesshomaru gave up trying to intimidate the old woman and took to looking around the hut. After the embarrassment of his nickname being found out, there would be no greater shame.

(Or so he _thought_.)

"Anyway, have you seen the blockhead, lately?" asked Kagome.

"You mean Inu-Yasha? He dropped off your bag last night," said the old woman, hoping that Kagome wouldn't notice that she was currently piling a blanket on top of Sesshomaru's fur wrap and kimono in an attempt to hide it from her eyes.

Sesshomaru noticed, however, and became suspicious and wondered why the half-breed had salvaged his clothes and why the old woman was keeping his secret for him.

"R-Really...?" she asked, a little guiltily and feeling sorry that shed thought so ill of him. She hurried over to her bag, opened it up, checked the contents and found that, except for some tea and junk food, everything was there. Guilt tugged at her again. "Where did he go?" she asked.

The old woman shrugged. "He told me nothing." It wasn't easy to lie to Kagome, but the girl would never suspect it.

Sesshomaru, on the other hand bristled with anger, his eyes blazing. She was lying and he _knew_ it.

"He only said he'd be back later and that it was none of our business."

Well, that _did _sound like something his brother would say. Maybe the old fool had her reasons.

"Mn..." Kagome looked a little disheartened as she closed the backpack and came back over to sit by the embers of the previous night's fire.

"He can be such a jerk," she vented. "If he thinks I'm going to be sitting here waiting for him to get back, he's out of his mind. I have a life, you know. I have school, and a _nice_--emphasis on_ NICE_--guy who likes me," she said referencing, of course, Hojo. "Inu-Yasha keeps disrupting my life," she seethed.

Kaede smiled softly. _But you keep coming back here, don't you?_ she wanted to say, but instead of inciting an argument, she chose to change the subject and turned the conversation on to lighter topics.

"Why did you bring Maru-chan with you?"

"Hm? Oh..." Kagome was snapped out of her little pit of hatred long enough to return to her former self. She thrust a thumb in the direction of the dog in question and said, "He wouldn't let me leave. I was afraid he hurt himself. He's su_pposed_ to stay still."

Kaede's eye brightened as she saw her chance to ensure her friend's safety. It'd probably get her killed later, but, she reasoned, shed had a long enough life already. " Moving too much, is he? I may be able to help you there. "Kaede turned toward a small table near the back of the hut, littered with objects and she riffled through them.

Sesshomaru didn't like the way things were going.

"Could you? That'd be great. If you've got some kinda herbs or something..."

Kaede turned around with a string of purple prayer beads in her hand and smiled.

Sesshomaru eyed the beads warily.

"That a bit of over-kill... don't you think?" asked Kagome a little unsurely. The old woman simply smiled again, cleared her throat and began a chant, during which two things occurred: the first being that the beads began to glow white. The second being that Sesshomaru realized where he'd seen a necklace like that before--on the neck of his brother.

He began to struggle, but within a matter of seconds, the beads were around his neck.

Kaede looked at him smugly and Kagome blinked in half-confusion, thinking maybe Kaede was getting a bit bead-happy.

"Stay?..." she said a little unsurely and the beads glowed again as Sesshomaru was forced to the floor, his head jerking through the zipper opening at lightening speed as he was rendered immobile.

He stared at the old woman, hatred burning in his eyes. _Curse you, old hag_... he thought with a low growl of contempt. The ground hadn't been very far from him, so it hadn't hurt much, but the thought of having been collared like his idiot brother, and by a human, no less, made him positively livid with anger. his pride had been taking a serious beating of late.

Kagome managed a smile, still thinking the necklace a bit cruel, but said, "Thank you. That'll help. I think."

"My pleasure," said the old woman with a smile. "Could you do me a favor, though? There's a stack of wood back behind the hut and I'm a bit tired today. Can you bring me in a rick?"

"Ah? Oh! Yeah, sure," Kagome nodded, happy to be of some use. She quickly disappeared out the hut flap.

Now they were alone. Sesshomaru growled at the old woman wanting very much to kill her. No. Torture her, _then_ kill her.

Kaede looked at him. "You probably hate me right now," she said as she stared at him, "but I won't give you the chance to hurt Kagome. Those beads are for her safety, and right now, they're for your good as well. Like it or not, you're in no shape to be doing much of anything."

Sesshomaru growled back at her as menacingly as he could, but the old woman seemed to ignore it. She was used to the snarling fits of a certain half-demon.

_Although,_ she reasoned,_ the puppy's gaze is a bit disconcerting._

Sesshomaru continued to growl, but broke it off when all the tensing made his leg hurt.

Kaede poked the embers in the fire pit with a stick.

"We're not sure yet if the transformation can be reversed or not, so just make the most of it while you can. You could have found a much worse master."

_Master_, Sesshomaru seethed at that. Beads or no beads, no human would** ever** be his master. Not even Kagome. He tried to stand up, but the spell on the beads was obviously strong and seemed to last a tad longer than the one on Inu-Yasha's beads and he wagered he'd just have to wait until it wore off.

"Okay..." stated Kagome as she came in the door carrying a rick of wood. "Where do you want it, Lady Kaede?"

"There is fine," she said pointing next to the doorway. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said as she placed the firewood on the ground and dusted off her hands.

She bent down in front of Sesshomaru, who was still mad enough to kill things with his glare, smiled and said, "Did you behave yourself?"

He looked at her, his anger dissolving into embarrassment. the old woman was just protecting her friend. He would still _kill_ her later, but... he could see her point. After all, up until the day before, he'd no only been their enemy, but their _worst_ enemy.

_Had been_ their worst enemy? He shook his head in disbelief. He wasn't thinking clearly because of the new from, he tried to reason. As soon as he regained his old body, he'd have no trouble killing his ingrate half-brother, Inu-Moron, _or _the stubborn but sweet woman in front of him.

So why did he suddenly decide that he wasn't their enemy?

"Well, " said Kagome as she zipped up the bag. _Oh, no!_ thought Shesshomaru realizing that his chances for escape were now exactly zilch. "I ought to get back now."

Kaede nodded in agreement. "I think that's a good idea."

Kagome went to the giant backpack and tried to get it onto her back with success. The tea Inu-Yashad drunk had lightened her load considerably.

With a little sigh she lifted the pet carrier over her shoulder and held the strap in place.

"I'll see you later," she said with a wave. "And thank you."

Kaede nodded a "you're welcome" and said, "Be careful."

Kagome made her way back to the well with Sesshomaru in tow. She slung her legs over the edge and sat on it for a moment, thinking.

"Inu-Yasha... where did he go?... We're always fighting, but he never runs off..." she sighed, wishing she could hold Maru-chan to help comfort her. She felt remotely bad. _He says he hates me, so maybe he finally got a bit fed up and went to look for the shards himself..._ she sighed again, but realized what she was going on about, clapped her hands in front of her face and brought her customary stubbornness to the forefront.

"What am I _thinking?!?" she_ ranted aloud. "Good riddance. Here's to havin a frikkin **_life_** again," she huffed, and with that, she shoved off into t he well.

Owari.

next: Chapter 7! Girl trouble?!? What's a half boy, half girl, half-human, half-wit, half-youkai to do? (Ask for directions, maybe?...)

Note from the author:

Today has been a fairly weird day so far, what with the power going out on me and me not having saved my new chapter yet, so I'm not gonna wax poet on this thing, as I've already typed on it for an hour and lost it. Anyhoo, you may have noticed that I Dont use spell check. That's cause I can't find it. The computer I'm on is all in kanji and what not and I Dont want to muddle around and try to find it cause my spelling isn't _that_ bad. Least I hope not... Excuses, excuses, you say. (most of it is sheer carelessness and laziness on my part, but, that's a secret... ) Bottom line, please Dont rag on me about the spelling thing. I'm doing all that I can!!! (you should have seen how long it took me to find the quotation marks on this Japanese keyboard...aheh... )


	7. China Bound: the Principles of Hibiki Di...

Greetings and salutations
    
    Greetings and salutations. I know I haven't written in a while and I'm 
    
    sure you're all foaming at the mouth for more of the story. Sorry to 
    
    keep you waiting, but I've come back to the US and haven't had a lot of 
    
    computer access. I want to take some time to thank a friend of mine who 
    
    has been very supportive. She keeps yelling at me, when she can, to get 
    
    this done. Thank you, Joanna. If if weren't for you, this thing would 
    
    probably still be in my notebook (she started making me type it because 
    
    she can't read my handwriting.). The bad thing about being back in 
    
    America, other than missing my friends, is how royally screwed up my typing 
    
    has become. Ah, well... Also, I know this one is short, but, I want you 
    
    to know I'm still alive. I'm not past the pre-written part yet, either.
    
    Also, I've had numerous problems trying to upload this thing from a Mac. Keep your fingers crossed. This may or may not make other chapters longer in coming.
    
     
    
    Chapter 7
    
     
    
    She was just getting to doze off when she felt it--that unmistakable 
    
    surge she got when Kagome used the well. She was bolt upright in a moment 
    
    and heading for the entrance of the cave when she remembered her new 
    
    form.
    
    For a moment, she hesitated, but then she thought that maybe she'd 
    
    check on her--make sure her new puppy wasn't using her for a chew-toy. So, 
    
    off she went, boobs and all, at lightening speed, jumping through the 
    
    trees when flying didn't prove as fast as she hoped.
    
    "I over...did it a ... little..." Inu-Yasha panted, out of breath as he 
    
    arrived at Kaede's and rested in a tree. Kagome was fetching wood for 
    
    Kaede and Inu-Yasha was caught by surprise as she rounded the corner 
    
    with a heap of wood stacked in her arms.
    
    _She looks happy_, she thought bitterly looking at the smile on her face. 
    
    Kagome paused unsurely and Inu-Yasha shrank against the treee branch, 
    
    certain she'd been found out, but ater a minute, it became evident that 
    
    she'd only been daydreaming or dawdling and she entered the hut with a 
    
    loud, "Okay!"
    
    Inu-Yasha breathed a sigh of relief and watched the hut again. Soon, 
    
    Kagome had come out again and Inu-Yasha would have leapt to meet her, 
    
    showing her the "condition" she'd recently acquired. She didn't care 
    
    anymore. Travelling alone sucked and she was bored. At least with Kagome 
    
    along she'd have someone to argue with. She steeled herself for the jump 
    
    and was about to leave the branch when--
    
    _That SMELL_---Inu-Yasha once again hunkered against the tree branch. _She _
    
    _brought Sesshomaru with her?!?!?_ her mind screamed. Her hands clenched 
    
    into fists.
    
    On the grass, Kagome walked slowly. Ambled really. She was being slow 
    
    on purpose, even if she didn't realize it, hoping that Inu-Yasha would 
    
    show up. He never did, and with a sigh she climbed onto the edge of the 
    
    well.
    
    Inu-Yasha leaned over her perch_. What's she thinkin' about, anyway?_ she 
    
    wondered in a huff as the girl sat on the edge of the well unmoving.
    
    Her breath caught as the girl looked back almost longingly and sighed.
    
    _She... She can't miss me can she_? thought Inu-Yasha in shock. Her face 
    
    went red at the notion.
    
    Finally, Kagome smacked her hands together in front of her face and 
    
    yelled, "What am I thinking?!? Good riddance! Here's to havin' a frikkin' 
    
    life again," she growled as she shoved off into the well.
    
    "Wha---" Inu-Yasha got out.
    
    "Who needs you, anyway?!?" yelled the half demon after her. She leapt 
    
    down from the tree. "Have your life, you stupid girl. I hope your new 
    
    puppy chews your face off!"
    
     
    
    In the void, Kagome sneezed.
    
     
    
     
    
    Inu-Yasha stomped along the road again, looking like a stubborn child 
    
    who had just lost her favorite toy and was refusing to admit that it 
    
    hurt.
    
    Onlookers and passerby skirted her by a good distance as she growled to 
    
    herself about stupid humans and gave anyone who met her eyes the look 
    
    of death.
    
    Trudging in such a way, she reached the cave again in about an hour. It 
    
    had only taken her 5 minutes to leave it. She worked her way to the 
    
    back, ready to go to bed and have dreams about strangling her brother.
    
    Sesshomaru..... When had things turned so bad between them? She 
    
    couldn't pick out a single occassion that had been the turning point. Well 
    
    that's not true. For her it was her their father's funeral. Sesshomaru 
    
    didn't show up. It was all downhill from there. Sesshomaru had never 
    
    wanted anything to do with Inu-Yasha's mother and when she'd died not soon 
    
    after their father, Inu-Yasha had been left all alone. There were times 
    
    when she'd felt protected, watched over, but he was utterly alone and 
    
    then on his 10th birthday, the first attack came.
    
    Sesshomaru had come at him from nowhere. Inu-Yasha would never have 
    
    admitted it, but that was the day his spirit died. His brother was the 
    
    only one he had left in the world. He shouldn't have turned on him--if 
    
    anything, he should have helped him. Or at least Inu-Yasha thought so. 
    
    Maybe that was the difference between demons and humans. Maybe that was 
    
    why he couldn't bring himself to finish off the idiot even if he hated 
    
    him. Deep down, there was that awful feeling that this bastard had been 
    
    the most important thing in his life.
    
     
    
    And now he's trying to take the other one.
    
     
    
    "God damn it," she seethed as she beat the wall with her fist. She hit 
    
    the hard rock until her hand came back bloody_. If I get the Shikon no _
    
    _Tama and change into a full demon, no one can ever hurt me again. Not _
    
    _like Sesshomaru did, or Kikyo, or even mom and dad when they died. I'll _
    
    _be as cold as Sesshomaru has always been and I'll be able to handle _
    
    _anything, _she thought bitterly.
    
    Was that true? Had Sesshomar always been that way? A picture flashed in 
    
    her mind of a Sesshomaru bearing a genuine smile (albeit a tiny one)--a 
    
    smile that she'd seen on his face more than once when she'd been young. 
    
    They were the kind of smiles that had given her a swell of pride as a 
    
    child. Now they were a bitter memory and she pushed them out of her 
    
    mind.
    
    _They were never real,_ she reasoned. _Probably just a facade to gain my _
    
    _trust and undemine my ability to kill him. He knew I was a threat from _
    
    _the beginning---bastard._
    
     
    
    Her hands went to the wall again and it wasn't long before she was 
    
    exhausted and drifted off into a deep sleep.
    
     
    
     
    
    The old man wound his way down the road in much the way he had on any 
    
    other day. He was humming to himself, in that habit that old men 
    
    sometimes have, kicking up dust as he shuffled along. It was nerely dusk and he 
    
    didn't think he could make it to town before dark. He hadn't counted on 
    
    his ox dieing on him. She had looked hale and healthy to him--not a day 
    
    over 30! There was no way he could get his cart to the town on his own 
    
    but he had allready been at least halfway there when Oushi-chan had 
    
    breathed her last and he had to reach the village by night. He wasn't 
    
    foolhardy enough to be out in the open near Inu-Yasha's forrest at night. 
    
    Who knew what kind of demons were lurking out there?
    
     
    
    Something held him back and he heard a female voice say, "Oi."
    
    The old man turned to see a white-haired dog-demon looking at him in 
    
    frustration.
    
    The dog-demon pulled him close to her face and said, "Old Man--which 
    
    way is China?"
    
     
    
     
    
    _Stupid old fart..._ thought inu-Yasha-chan as she left Kaede's village 
    
    yet again. After the old man had told her he had no idea what China even 
    
    was, she was about to leave him there when he had asked politely if he 
    
    could accompany her to the village, as it was late and she ought not be 
    
    travelling by herself at night, youkai or not. She'd given him a look 
    
    of death and he'd given her an innocent one in return. She had cursed 
    
    and he had let it pass with a smile. This made her curse again, of 
    
    course. A few minutes of ambling along at his pace and Inu-Yasha ws about to 
    
    fall asleep on her feet, so she had made the old bag of bones get on 
    
    her back and flown him the rest of the way to the village. He had thanked 
    
    her profusely and gone to find lodgings ending up at Kaede's hut after 
    
    a few minutes of asking around. That was where Inu-Yasha had been at 
    
    the moment and the old man had chosen to inform the old woman (Kaede) of 
    
    Inu-Yasha's good deed.
    
    "Anyway," said Inu-Yasha as the old man put a futon down where Kaede 
    
    had shown him. "This isn't a social call. Where is China, anyway?"
    
    Kaede had let a wry smile come to her lips and had chuckled a bit. 
    
    "That is your style, isn't it? China is to the west--but perhaps you would 
    
    be best off finding out a way to remedy the situation rather than 
    
    finding the origin."
    
    Inu-Yahsa chan eyed her susupiciously. "Why's that?" she demanded. _Old _
    
    _crone._
    
    "The source may be a moot point."
    
    "Feh--that's where you're wrong, old woman. It's never gonna' be a moot 
    
    point. I can find out about this damn curse while I'm trying to fix it. 
    
    Maybe you just don't want me to leave," she said archly.
    
    Kaede looked at her seriously. She couldn't tell her that she was 
    
    afraid if Inu-Yasha left Kagome would fall for Sesshomaru and that the 
    
    longer he was gone, the better the chance would be for an attatchment 
    
    between the human and the full demon. If she told her that she would go off 
    
    into a sputtering fit about how Kagome meant nothing to him anyway and 
    
    to let the bastard have her.
    
    "I just don't think you should give up your search for the shards yet. 
    
    Perhaps the full Shikon no Tama can cure the curse." It wasn't a lie, 
    
    not really. Kaede had no way of knowing wether the jewel would work or 
    
    not, but if it could turn a half-youkai into a full blooded human or 
    
    demon it could almost certainly be able to break a little curse. Couldn't 
    
    it?
    
    Inu-Yasha's face was remotely placid and comtemplative. "Hm... I never 
    
    thought about that," she admitted. "And it'd also be a shame to waste a 
    
    lot of time in another country when the answer to my problem could be 
    
    right under my nose." There was a puse. "Okay," she said smacking her 
    
    palm with a fist and standing up. "So I'll start going after the shards 
    
    again."
    
    She turned to leave. "Inu-Yasha --wait--"
    
    "Mm?" she asked with the tired tone of a "Now what?" creeping into her 
    
    voice.
    
    "Perhaps it would be best for you to travel during the day."
    
    Inu-Yasha glared at her. "Are you going _blind_, old woman?!?!? Have you 
    
    forgotten what I look like? It's an embarrassment and no one is going 
    
    to see me like this if I can help it."
    
    "But," said the old man, who had been relatively silent during the 
    
    whole thing as he had set up his futon. "There are many not so kind-hearted 
    
    demons lurking about at this time of night. If you meet up with one and 
    
    get yourself killed, everyone will see your form anyway."
    
    Inu-Yasha had eyed him. The old freak had a point, but...
    
    "Feh. What do you know? Ya' old kodger," she had said in a huff. "I'm 
    
    getting started on my quest and I don't need any frikkin' help or advice 
    
    from a couple of ricketty old humans."
    
    "Or a spry young priestess and a flea?" asked Kaede, stirring the fire.
    
    "Especially not those two idiots." Inu-Yasha folded her arms. "And 
    
    don't think I don't know that little idiot came crawling back here with--" 
    
    Inu-Yasha practically spat the name out-- "**Ses**sho**maru**."
    
    Kaede had chuckled. "Yes, he's quite endearing as a puppy, isn't he?"
    
    "**Fuck that**!" she had yelled, turning red.
    
    "It might interest you to know that you and your brother have something 
    
    in common now..."
    
    Inu-Yasha snorted. "Nothing about him interests me," but she didn't 
    
    move and stayd silent. Inu-Yasha wouldn't show it, but she'd become 
    
    nervous_. It can't be about Kagome... can it? Am I that transperant?_
    
    "Your prayer beads--your brother now has a set of his own," she had 
    
    said with a smile.
    
    Inu-Yasha had widened her eyes and a bitter half-smile had crept across 
    
    her face as she thought about her arrogant brother being slapped with a 
    
    "sit". She wanted details. "Izzat so?" she asked nonchalantly, but 
    
    Kaede'd known she'd piqued the half-demon's interest and had nodded.
    
    "Did she try it out?" Inu-Yasha had asked, playing absently with the 
    
    hilt of the Tetsusaiga and feiging disinterest.
    
    Kaede had nodded. "I think if he regains his true form that you'll have 
    
    a little vacation while he comes after me."
    
    Inu-Yasha had smirked. "Didn't like it, did he?"
    
    "Not a bit."
    
    Inu-Yasha then had a somewhat satisfied look on her face and with a 
    
    smile had said, "Well, I'm off."
    
    "Young lady--" the old man had said as he sat on the floor.
    
    Inu-Yasha had balked at that and had to keep from bonking the guy on 
    
    his head with one of her swords. Instead, she had creaked her head around 
    
    to face him, her eye twitching.
    
    "Thank you for all your help," he'd said with smile.
    
    "Feh-- don't trouble yourself about it, Gramps," she had said as she'd 
    
    headed for the door.
    
    "Be that as it may..." began the old man, " You need to learn to talk 
    
    more like a lady."
    
    Kaede smiled.
    
    Inu-Yasha began to tremble with the urge to smack the old fossil. 
    
    "O-oh?" she'd asked shakily.
    
    "Girls shouldn't use such ugly language--especially ones as pretty as 
    
    you."
    
     
    
     
    
    _Stupid, stupid, stupid, old fart_, she thought again, seething. Kaede 
    
    had been supressing laughter when the half-demon had left the hut. She 
    
    was going to start travelling during the day again, but she wasn't about 
    
    to tell the two humans that.
    
    Inu-Yasha shook with anger and embarrassment and swore to curse a blue 
    
    streak from that day forward.
    
     
    
     
    
    Coming soon: Chapter 8. "Ano sukebe wa DARE desu ka?!?!?" Monk-ey in 
    
    the mists.
    
     


	8. Monk-ey in the Mists: who is that perver...

Welcome to Adobe GoLive 5 

Okay, okay, okay. Sorry this took me so long. It's just that I wrote almost all of chapter 8 on the comp. and then it just went all inaccessible on me. So, I've been kind of reluctant to start it over again because I type so slowly. Fu. Another weird thing is that lots of my friends want to read it and they don't read Inu Yasha! So, I am going to have to type up a page detailing the whole frikkin' storyline and chara descriptions for everyone so they'll all stop bugging me. It's usually just a given that if you go into a fanfic you already know the characters, but my friends just want to read it because Iwrote it.

Thank you, everyone, for the support! I hope you keep reading! I have now gotten chapters 9 and 10 written. Maybe 11, too. I don't know the division yet. It's all just a matter of typing them. Keep bugging me and maybe this will get finished!

Words you outta' know! 

-chan(suffix)- suffix added to names to make them more cute. Usually reserved for girls, it can also be used for Boys' nicknames. For instance, one of my male friends insists on being called Fluctuating.

daruma- a daruma is a Japanese doll that looks kind of like a rock. They are red and have two big white eyes. You buy them when you want to accomplish something and paint in one eye. When you are finished, you paint in the other eye. Anyhoo, the reason they are in here is because they have a rounded bottom and when you push them they kind of totter for a bit but they right themselves-- like those inflatable punch dolls that you got when you were little--you know the ones I'm talkin' about--you little rascals you!

happi- no, not the long lost Japanese dwarf from snow white (he got cut out along with Stinky and Incontinent) a happi is a short, traditional coat worn by common folk.

left- the opposite of right....... sheesh..... no, really. See, in Nihon the left is way more cool than the right--just the opposite of America. Naturally, this position is reserved for men. When sitting or standing, the woman is always to the man's right.

miko- shrine-maiden, basically

onegiri- basically a riceball. They're about the size of someone's fist. Mostly shaped like a triangle and sometimes wrapped in nori(seaweed) but the rice is nevernever mixed with anything. Stuff can be ON the rice, or in it, like an umeboshi or some tuna, but the rice....aw, hell. You get the idea.

o-sake- sake is alcohol. Adding an O just makes it sound nicer and denotes that it is honorable. Sometimes it means that it is what we Americans call sake, or Japanese rice wine. It is said that it tastes better heated. The best o-sake is supposed to be served cold or chilled. The worst is supposed to be heated. I, personally, don't like the stuff at all.

Boy, am I ever long winded today. At least it was kinda funny...... I hope..... PLEASE tell me it was funny! Please?.....

Without further a doo-doo--

Chapter 8: Who is that Pervert?!?: monk-ey in the mists

It was morning when Inu-Yasha emerged from the cave she'd been in. She'd travelled as hard and fast as she could from he village in hopes of wearing herself out enough to sleep again, as she hadn't really been tired. The cave she'd spent the night in was much smaller than the first one an coming out of it, she'd felt rather cramped. The cave had been relatively hard to find at night especially since it was several miles into the forest. If she hadn't used it before she'd never have found it.

She let out a huge yawn as she cracked her neck and stretched. After that, she began to leap down the path.

_Yeesh_ she thought in aggravation. _I'm hungry..... I should have grabbed some more of that funky food outta' Kagome's bag. Fuh._ She continued to leap, touching down on the path every once in a while, when, suddenly, the newness her body wore on her and she became disgusted with the feeling of her breasts bouncing against her chest. 

"GOD DAMN IT!" she yelled in frustration and ground herself to a halt. She grabbed a nearby tree of relatively small size (at least, to a demon, that is...) and, uprooting it, sent it sailing through the forest with a mighty heave.

She stood there panting, waiting to hear the sound of it hitting something and was rewarded with the sound of, first bushes being crushed, and then a large, "Gwagh!!!" as it obviously landed on some innocent bystander.

At first, Inu-Yasha was surprised. Then a little happy. Then a little remorseful. She kicked a rock out of the pathway and with a loud, "FUCK," she made her way toward where the yell had come from.

Inu Yasha was feeling a little silly and reckless as she made her way through the forest seeing branches that her wooden missile had pulverized and the destruction she had caused. Finally, the forest opened up onto a little path. It was one of those old ones that ambled and had no real logic to it so you knew it had been made by animals simply following the packed and hard dirt. It was on this path that Inu Yasha found the victims of her momentary rage. The tree was not salvageable, that much she could tell. The human was another story.

She could see and smell that he was a human, alright. She noticed that he was breathing, but not moving. His face was squished into the ground and his limbs were splayed about oddly. In his hand he held a monk's staff. Inu Yasha wondered how still had ahold of it.The half-demon sighed and lifted the tree off of his back.

_What happened?... I was walking through the forest when there was that awful sound, like a herd of cattle crashing through the brush._ His back was burning like nothing he'd felt before and he wondered it he might have hurt it badly. He also wondered if he could move. 

There was the sound of water gently flowing and he heard rustling in the bushes behind him. 

The young man opened his eyes to see emerging from he bushes a strange looking...what?... demon? Those ears weren't human--neither was that hair color. The demon in question was wearing a bright red kimono which was a stark contrast to its hair. The man heard the unmistakable sound of sticks being dropped onto the ground on top of a preexisting pile.

Was the demon making a fire? He shifted a little, becoming nervous. He thought for a moment that maybe he was about to become someone's breakfast. Or lunch. Or maybe even dinner. Hell. What time was it, anyway? He began to reach for his right hand when the demon's ears twitched back in his direction. 

_Oh shit..._ he thought freezing.

The demon turned suddenly, dusted its hands off and looked at him indignantly. "Oi-- finally awake, priest?"

The raven-haired priest blinked at the demon-woman before him in surprise.

She turned back toward the pile of sticks and started arranging them into a more organized pile and stuffing twigs and leaves in the bottom as kindling.

"Sorry 'bout the tree. You prob'ly shouldn't move. I'm tryin' to catch some fish for dinner, so neither of us starve."

She grumbled to herself as she tried to start a fire with two sticks. "You know, if you'd watch where you were going this wouldn't have happened."

_Oh, ho-ho! _ thought the priest with a smile. _Fiery._ "I agree with you, madam. It was entirely my fault. Is there some way I can repay you for all the trouble I've caused you?"

_What is this guy up to?...._ Inu Yasha paused in her fire-building with suspicion. "Die quietly?..." she muttered as a suggestion.

"I don't think my situation is that dire, miss," he said in reply.

Inu Yasha balked-- the guy'd heard her. She played it off with a scoff. "Keh! You don't know me very well," she said in a gravelly voice hoping that he'd get the point that she wasn't to be trifled with.

She was surprised when he zipped in front of her, took her hand in his and said, "I'd like to," with a smoldering look in his eyes.

Inu-Yasha stared at him, her eyes wide. She blinked.

Recovering, she threw his hands down violently and leapt back. "What the hell is wrong with you?!?" 

The priest didn't miss a step and was back in front of her again quickly. "Your back got better awful damn quick," she growled as he clasped her hands in his. 

"The presence of a beautiful woman will do that to me," he said laying on the charm.

"Keh," she scoffed. "Listen here, human--"

"Would you bear my child?" asked the priest with a determined and serious look on his face.

You could have heard a pin drop in the forest. Inu-Yasha faltered and was at a loss for words. "Ah?"

"Would you--" 

"I heard you the first time!" she screamed throwing his hands away from her yet again.

"I take that as a 'no'," he said with disappointment.

"You got that right, Lech!" she fumed as she put some distance between the two of them and eyed him with the same expression she had used on Kagome when she'd seen her in a miko's clothes.

The priest sighed and scratched his head. "Ah, well. It was worth a shot, anyway." He traversed the distance between the two of them and held out his hand. Inu-Yasha eyed the priest suspiciously from all fours and growled lowly.

"Come one. I won't bite," he said with a smile, resisting the urge to add the word "hard". 

"My name is Miroku," he said. It seemed his smile couldn't be wiped from his face.

Inu-Yasha looked him up and down, smacked his offered hand out of the way, stood up, crossed her arms and said, "Inu-Yasha."

She immediately regretted it an felt like smacking herself on her forehead.

"Inu... Yasha...?" he asked, confirming.

_Fuck_, she thought with a mental sneer. _Shoulda' made somethin' up._

"May I call you Inu-Yasha-_chan_?"

She reacted to that by immediately getting in his face. "You do that and I'll rip out your heart and feed it to you!!!" she screamed with barely contained rage.

"Hm?" he asked in acknowledgement, his smile not wavering.

Inu-Yasha backed off from him in surprise. Who the hell was this pervert? That's when she felt something on her chest. She looked down at the hand resting gently on the curve of her kimono.

"Oh-- how did that get there?" said the priest innocently and he removed the offending hand before Inu-Yasha was recovered from the shock.

Unsure really of what to do after such an infraction, she went into a sort of catatonic state for a bit and Miroku the priest went over to the pile of sticks that was to be their fire and said something Inu-Yasha was in no state to understand, although it was undoubtedly a compliment about her ability to pile sticks well, as Miroku seemed to be in the habit of flattering.

After a few minutes he'd gotten a fire started and succeeded in spearing three fish which were currently roasting over the fire. He returned to the gentle stream with another stick and was trying to catch some more fish when he felt someone watching him from the bank. He turned around to see that it was Inu-Yasha giving him the look of death that beautiful women seemed to be so fond of giving him and ugly women never graced him with. 

He smiled and waved hoping for some reaction. Preferably one different than the one he received which consisted of much bristling and growling on the part of the dog-demon. He turned back to his work, caught several more fish and then returned to the banks after it had begun to grow dark.

"Guess I was out longer than I thought..." he mused.

The dog-demon was still narrowing her eyes at him.

He glanced at her as she approached the bank, moved his gaze tot he fish on the fire and said, " You should eat them before they burn," with a nod.

"Fuh," she spat and wordlessly made her way toward the fire, bitterly grabbing the stick with the fish on it. She noted that it was on fire and, with a yelp, began to beat it against the ground to put the flames out. She stared tat the three blackened fish and _really_ wished for some of Kagome's weird food.

The priest smiled gently as he unrolled his tunic which he'd pulled up to about knee level. He pointed to the fresh fish on the fire. "Perhaps you would like to trade? Just take care not to burn this batch."

Inu-Yasha growled and bit into her blackened fish. "Thanks, but no thanks, Priest," she said. She then almost gagged on the crispy flesh and had to gulp them down quickly to keep from gagging again. She then stomped over to the bank of the stream, growling all the way, and gulped down a gallon or so of water.

Miroku watched her as she stood again and stomped back to he fireside where the priest was sitting. She reached down, picked him up by his tunic, started to hold him up to her face and then remembered what he had done earlier and chose instead to put him at arm's length. She said in as threatening a voice as she could, "Look here, Priest-- I ma NOT a GIRL, you got it?"

Miroku looked at her, cleared his throat and said, "I agree."

"Well, at least that's some progress," she muttered and placed him back on the ground.

"You are a _woman_!" he said seriously, latching onto her arm yet again and making with the smoldering eyes.

Inu-Yasha yelped in surprise at the monk's tenacity--not to mention thickheadedness-- and picking him up by his tunic, flung him away from her and into the trunk of a tree that was surrounded by bushes.

She stood there panting in surprise and frustration, her face giving off heat.

Miroku popped up again, undaunted. He picked some leaves out of his hair, and, parting the bushes, came back onto the grassy area that was serving as their campground.

he plunked down by the fire and pulled his fish out. He proceeded to nibble them delicately. 

"What are you doing in the forest, anyway, Monk?" asked the dog demon from several yards away.

He sighed theatrically. "Please... it's Miroku."

"Monk, Priest, Houshi, Lech, Perv.; take your pick," she growled .

Miroku smiled a little and then replied, "Looking for gorgeous women." He winked and got smacked in the head with a rock. He chuckled a little and said, "No really, I'm looking for a shards of the shikon no tama." He looked at her to discern any recognition.

Inu-Yasha tried to hide her surprise whilst Miroku took another bite of fish to cover up that he was scanning her. "Heard of it?" he asked after he finished the fish.

Inu-Yasha sneered. "Of _course_. What would a human like you want with it anyway?"

Miroku lifted his right hand. "This." The hand was wrapped in fabric and had a string of prayer beads wrapped around it.

Inu-Yasha pulled out the Tetsusaiga. "I can cut that off for you," she said with a gleam in her eye.

Miroku shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll take my chances." He took another bite of fish.

Inu-Yasha shrugged and putting the sword back into its scabbard, said, " Suit yourself," and sat back down. "What's wrong with it?"

"My grandfather was attacked by a powerful demon who escaped him by passing through his hand. The hole that it produced became a vortex that grew larger all the time. It eventually swallowed him. It was passed on to my father, and after that, myself. The only way I can get rid of it is to kill the demon who did it. If I don't succeed then I will have to have an heir to carry on in my place." Miroku took another bite of fish.

Inu-Yasha was quiet for a bit. "Sucks to be you." Miroku nodded. "What's that got to do with the Shikon Jewel, though?" she asked.

"I'm hoping that the demon who did it is also one of the demons after the Shikon no tama and I hope that by gathering it, I can draw him out for one last battle."

"Hm. How many shards you got?..." she asked nonchalantly.

Miroku arched an eyebrow at her. "I' m a lecher--not an idiot," he said and smiled.

Inu-Yasha eyed him. "What makes you think _I_ want them?"

Miroku shrugged and took another bite of fish. "It's best not to take chances, don't you think? Especially since it's a half-demon named Inu-Yasha who's been trying to find the shards." Miroku paused while Inu-Yasha turned red. "At least, that's what the rumors say..." There was a silence.

"I'll trade them to you if you'll sleep with me."

Miroku was beaned in the head with another rock and immediately righted himself like a daruma.

"For the last time, you pervert, I am a man. I'm going to bed," and with that she leapt into a tree.

Miroku smiled to himself. Winning _her_ over would be fun. She seemed nice enough under her rough exterior, too. Maybe a little screw was loose, but.....

"May I join you?" he yelled to the treed dog-girl and was immediately struck by a large tree branch.

Inu-Yasha crept out of the tree quietly. Miroku the priest was nowhere to be seen. The fire had died to nothing and the forest was alive with birds, glad to have morning back. 

She looked around cautiously, and sniffed the air. Wherever he was, he hadn't gone far. The whole place smelled like their fire, though, so it was hard to tell. She'd have to be quick if she was going to leave him behind.

Inu-Yasha leapt tot he ground and set off into the forest, bursting onto the path right in front of the priest in question.

She looked at him in surprise. He looked at her smugly and with thinly veiled satisfaction.

"Good morning. Miss me already?" he asked with a smile.

Inu-Yasha faltered, turned red and began to sputter. "This--this--this-- isn't what is looks like, Lech! I wasn't coming after you. Don't flatter yourself."

She turned hotly onto the path and stormed ahead. Miroku smiled to himself.

"Where are you headed?" he asked after a bit.

"Where ever there are Shikon shards," she growled at him.

"In that case, there are some in my--"

"I don't wanna' hear it!" she yelled back at him. 

Miroku shrugged. "Why do you want the Shikon no tama? If... you don't mind me asking."

"Two reasons and neither of them are your fucking business," she growled hostily, thought for a moment and then added, " and if you tell me I should watch my language, you'll be pulling that staff out of your ass."

"Kinky," he replied. "It's too bad, though, cause I had a good line."

"I bet you did," she muttered bitterly.

They walked on, Inu-Yasha seething and Miroku just generally walking in silence. It went on like that for half an hour or so when Inu-Yasha overcame her anger and noticed that the priest wasn't coming on to her.

"Oi--" she said, turning slightly. "What are you so quiet for?"

"Hm?" said Miroku, meeting her gaze. "I was just thinking."

"About what," she demanded suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," he said with an innocent look on his face.

"Keh. Lech," she disparaged, facing forward.

A few more minutes passed.

"Actually," said Miroku, "to be honest, I was wondering if you had a tail."

"Hah?!?!?" she let escape in alarm. "GYI!!!"

Miroku's hand rested on her buttocks. "I don't _feel_ one..." he said with genuine perverse curiosity.

"AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" she screamed in a combination of surprise disgust and rage. She frantically whirled around to face him, her face ablaze with mostly embarrassment but quite a bit of anger as well.

He looked at her innocently and rose to his full height.

Inu-Yasha backed away from him, one arm covering her breasts and her other arm gripping the Tetsusaiga. (which she had again grabbed out of habit even though it wouldn't transform to fight the human and didn't look very impressive as a rusty old sword) which she placed in front of her person. It was shaking as she fought the urge to do the priest bodily harm.

"You---I---- would ya'---what---you---" Inu-Yasha was going a bit catatonic again.

Miroku gently took hold of the sword and before Inu-Yasha could protest or react he placed it back within the scabbard, gave her a smile and walked past her on the path.

And was soon after clobbered by a giant boulder.

They reached the village at about half past twelve Inu-Yasha a bit frazzled looking, worn out by Miroku's almost constant harassment, and Miroku looking a bite like he's shaken hands with moving train. 

"End of the line, Houshi," she said gruffly. She raised her hand, waving him off and said, "I'm outta' here." 

"And here I was hoping we could work together," he lamented, laying on a guilt trip. 

She gave him an icy look, "Are you serious? I was hoping I'd beaten some fucking sense into you on the way here. This is where we split up. I'll find the shards on my own."

Miroku smiled slyly. "Well, you have to come get them eventually if you want the whole Shikon no tama, so I'll see you then." He winked at her and she gave him a sour look knowing that he was right. To that he smiled sweetly and said with a wave, "Bye-bye, Inu-Yasha-chan."

"For the last _fucking_ time-- I AM NOT A _GIRL!" _she screamed. The village came to a relative standstill as everyone looked at the recently arrived and very loud demon-dog and her more conventional looking travelling companion. The bellowing she'd done at the top of her lungs was quite intimidating even if it was coming from a girl.

Miroku covered his eyes at her complete social ineptitude and proceeded down the dusty road to the resident shaman/shamaness/priestess or whatever which is always a standard in villages, to ask about any irregular demon activity.

A murmur of whispers began as Inu-Yasha chose a different route and she walked up to a man in a happi and greeted him in customary Inu-Yasha fashion.

"Oi-" she said with a jerk of her head. "You heard about any demons around?"

The man looked at her blankly. She could smell his fear and confusion. There was a little anger mixed in with it, probably due to his having been addressed so gruffly by a girl. 

Them man simply stared, his eyes unblinking.

Inu-Yasha rolled her eyes, grabbed her ears and said in an exasperated voice, "Demons? You know--Akuma? Youkai? Akurei? Mita koto ga aru?" 

Blank.

"GRAUGH!" she growled. "Forget it." With that she stomped off to kind another villager to terrorize.

Evening was getting underway. Inu-Yasha had stopped bugging the villagers after a while. Most of them had been too scared to give her an answer to any questions. She looked pretty unstable and the way she'd come roaring into town hadn't been the best way to make friends.

She sat on a low-hanging tree branch that was just close enough for her to jump onto a house roof, if she chose to, without any effort.

Her search was leading nowhere. At least when she had Kagome she wasn't so bored. The girl could also sense the Shikon fragments. She also seemed to be a trouble magnet. Not that Inu-Yasha wasn't. It's just that there always seemed to be some sort of force pulling them to where they needed to be when she had Kagome around. 

_What's she doing, I wonder..._ she thought idly. Luckily, before she ruined her memories of Kagome by remembering that she had Sesshomaru with her, she heard a slightly loud "clack" and looked in the direction the sound had come from. 

There was the priest with a ladder leaning up against the building by Inu-Yasha's tree.

_ What's he up to? _she thought in contempt. 

The priest reached the top of the cabin with the thatched roof and hauled himself on top of it, bringing a cloth sack with him.

Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed as he opened the sack and produced--- an onegiri. He looked up at the tree and smiled. Inu-Yasha shrank back and prepared to jump off the branch. 

"Where're you going?" Miroku asked.

"Someplace where I won't have any neighbors," she huffed. 

"Pity. I've got enough food here for the both of us. Come on. I promise not to make you uncomfortable," he said, patting the roof. 

"Keh! That's impossible," she said, but she hopped down from the branch, much to Miroku's satisfaction, and took the onigiri from his hand. She made sure to sit to his left and hoped he got the message, but he didn't seem the least bit insulted. _Fah. Maybe he doesn't know court culture_, she thought and huffed that her insult didn't work. With that little frustration eating at her she shoved the whole onigiri into her mouth. 

Miroku stiffled a laugh and looked a bit embarrassed for her. _Well... demon's aren't exactly known for their manners... I thought for sure she'd at least know to sit to my right, though..._

He handed her a flask.

"Wha'zis?" she said with her mouth halfway full of rice and seaweed.

"O-sake," he said as he tilted it toward her.

Inu-Yasha eyed him and then grabbed the flask, drinking the liquid. It wasn't the wost osake she'd ever had, but it could have used some warming up, that's for sure. It really cleared her sinuses, anyway.

"Fweh!" she said after the drink loosened her up a bit. "I never did care for that stuff 50 years ago and I still don't like it," she fanned her tongue.

Miroku chuckled and took the drink from her out-stretched hand. Her last statement had confused him, but he let it slide. He liked the taste, personally, but it dulled the wits and those were his favorite things. He also didn't like it on account of the fact that the monk who'd taught him was a bit of a lush and Miroku had always blamed his ill health on the brew. Alcohol made you more susceptible to demons, as well, he reminded himself with another chuckle. He glanced at the dog-demon who was currently gobbling another onigiri using her left hand and rummaging through the food bag with her right. He hoped she'd try to "suscept" herself to _him_. Grrowr! That made him laugh outright and he got a weird look from the girl in question. She popped the last of the onigiri into her mouth and went rummaging again.

Miroku decided he should eat, too, but thought it best to wait until her hands were out of the bag. He had promised, after all.

"So you are Inu-Yasha, then?" he asked, staring up at the sky and humoring his poor, deranged demoness.

"Keh! Of _course_." The onigiri had long since been eaten and the two had started on the sake again. After finishing it off, neither of them felt much like moving and they both had begun watching the night sky. The half moon was very romantic, or at least Miroku thought so, and he thought that if he could ju-u-u-u-st keep her talking long enough, he could get over to her, inch by inch and...

"But, I could have sworn that Inu-Yasha was travelling with a priestess...." he reasoned.

"Keh! That idiot_ Kagome_?" Inu-Yasha shook her head. "She's no _prie_stess. Just some kid who got real unlucky and was born with weird powers. She's not even a miko--her family just runs a shrine..." she yawned.

................................................................. 

Kagome's head came off her pillow as she woke up from her dream and sneezed delicately. Sesshomaru let out a "hm?" and the two sat bewildered for a minute before Kagome put her head back down and snuggled into the covers again.

................................................................. 

"Hm..." Miroku wondered how far her psychosis went. She'd actually given a backstory to the girl. "Do you like her?"

Inu-Yasha began to sputter and rant. "That _idiot?!?_ **_Hell_** no!" This was exactly the wrong person to be expressing her "hatred" of Kagome to, but Inu-Yasha wasn't exactly ready to be honest. She wasn't exactly thinking either. "She's got no frikkin' sense of time, she's always late, she makes me _'sit' _**AND** she brought my brother--my _**fucking**_ brother who only recently tried to kill er--home with her."

.................................................................

"Hachoo!" Kagome rubbed her nose. "This is so weird," she said groggily. "Maybe I'm coming down with something..."

"Katchoo!" came from the end of the bed.

"Maru-chan?"

.................................................................

Inu-Yasha stared at the sky angrily. "All in all, she's the worst thing that ever happened to me," she lied. Well, it was only a half lie. She was the worst thing, because she made Inu-Yasha rethink her values, her goals, hell, even her reason for being. But, she was also the best thing, and that tortured Inu-Yasha-- knowing that she had so wholly become a part of his life that she didn't want to lose her. She didn't love her. Not really, but she knew that without her, she'd be so infinitely lonely. Kagome'd been the closest thing she'd had to a family since Sesshomaru started trying to kill her. It had never even been like that with Kikyo.

_Kikyo..._ she thought quietly and sat up, he mood suddenly more sour.

Next to her Miroku rose as well. "Ah? What is it?"

Inu-Yasha waved her hand to silence him and began a walk toward the edge of the roof. She looked silently into the forest.

"Miroku." She didn't turn.

The priest was surprised and his face showed it. "Y-yes?" he tried to get to his feet quickly, but the alcohol they'd ingested was having more of an effect on him than it was on Inu-Yasha and he ended up staying put.

"Thanks for everything, but... I got no room in my life for friends..." she said flatly, thinking how Kikyo had betrayed her.

Miroku looked a little dejected, but gave a sad smile and said, "I understand. That way you don't get hurt, right?"

Inu-Yasha flinched and bitterness crept into her as she let out a low growl.

Miroku shuffled around on t he thatched roof and slowly rose, going to stand beside the half-demon. He smiled with a little sigh.

Inu-Yasha turned an eye toward hi warily, supposing she was about to be groped. Miroku only nodded in a North-Eastern direction and said, "There are reports of a couple of lightening demons that were headed in that direction. All accounts say that they're attacking other demons, so there's probably some Shikon shards involved."

Inu-Yasha was surprised, at first and then smiled smugly. "Thanks. You're still no closer to getting in my pants--but thanks."

The priest looked at her in mock offense. "Moi?!? try to get into your pants? Surely you jest!"

"Feh," she scoffed.

Miroku straightened up. "Still. I'm looking for the shard, too, so it's a race now. Make no mistake about that. If I find the demons first, the shard are mine."

_That's more like it, _ she thought. _Competition, I can handle, _Inu-Yasha smirked. "It's been fun. Catch ya' later."

Miroku nodded his goodbye as she leapt off the roof.

He tilted his head to one side and watched her as she flew off. "Hmmmmm? Definitely no tail," he said absently.

End of chapter 8.

How was that, huh? Hope everyone liked Miroku's character. Boy, did that take a long time to type. Thank you to everyone who keeps reviewing (although traffic is a bit slow, lately--maybe I should type more often.....). Keep it up! It helps me get motivated enough to write this thing. Hope no one minds that I finally gave the chapters names. I hope they're okay.

And the moment you've all been waiting for! The new chapter listing! Hope the chapter title is pretty self-explanitory.

Next: Chapter 9: Maru-chan's Bane! The Kagome/Hojo date


	9. Maru-chan's Bane! the Kagome/Hojo date

Huzah! After many minutes of looking for this stupid thing and thinking I'd accidentally deleted it or something, I finally found it saved under the wrong frikkin' file name on another computer. At least I had a disk with me to transfer it over. I would not have been very happy if I'd have had to type this thing again. I really wasn't looking forward to it. Yahoo!  
Hope no one is going to be too dissappointed with this chapter. I'm warning you right now that if you are expecting a huge fight or something you will be starving for some action by the end of this. It's mainly just a soul-delving kind of thing.   
Vocab.  
zabuton-- relatively flat cushion used for sittin' on da floor on  
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Okay--I just went to look at this thing on Fanfiction.net and this is the last time I'm using Simpletext! I'm going to try to put this in another program and fix it.Woohoo! Disaster has been averted! Enjoy the chapter, everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 9  
Sesshomaru's Bane: the Kagome/Hojo date  
  
It had been a week since Sesshomaru'd come to live with the human. He had actually begun to feel her absences during the day. Of course, being bored out of your mind and basically bed-ridden will do that to you. His left front leg, although far from being completely mended, was at least not aggrevating him everytime he moved anymore. He could now hobble around at a nice speed without its usage. That didn't mean Kagome would let him, of course. He had to be kept inside, according to her, at least when no one was home and since she didn't trust her grandfather or Sota to watch him, that left her over protective mother who thought he should stay in until hell froze over.  
Needless to say, Sesshomaru was in the habit of becoming incredibly bored until Kagome would get home from school and then he would have to stop himself from running to meet her or her brother (who he had also deduced could be a source of entertainment). He sat boredly on the floor of the kitchen, watching the mother do her daily cooking thing. Today she was making some small round, sweet-smelling bread things and he wondered what they tasted like. He didn't think they could be for dinner as no mother would feed her children something like that as a meal, but he as curious, none-the-less. The little circles went into the oven and she started to clean up after herself, humming all the while.  
He watched the clock on the wall (he had learned to tell time in the past week) and silently cursed how slow the thing was moving. It was only 2 o'clock. Kagome never got ome until 4 or 4:30. He shuffled angrily. What kind of mother let her daughter go out alone every day fo the week? He didn't know whar kind of wierd customs this world had, but surely they weren't so fool hardy as to leave thier daughters without escort day after day.   
He bristled in anger and nervousness. Today was cause for special concern.   
Kagome was in heat.  
It had surprised him. He hadn't noticed it, or cared to notice it before on other human females, but it was like an enticing perfume. He was glad then that his senses were more dull. If he'd have had his full demon senses to would have been an overpowering smell. It would have enveloped him and he was not sure if he could have resisted her for long.   
The smell was not like the passionate and wild smell of a demon woman in heat. That had a hint of danger and excitement to it. It dared you to come to it. This was different. It was so gentle--it was as if it called to you ever so quietly. You would think you could resist and that you were in no danger of succumbing. Therein lay the real danger. Before you realized it, you were her slave and by then, she had you so wholely you could never break free.  
Sesshomaru was aggrevated. He been tricked by that smell earlier in the day. He'd found him self longing to touch her in any way--just be close to her. He'd thought it harmless and innocent at first, but the longer he stayed near her, the stronger the urges got and the closer to her he longed to be. he had found himself nuzzling her hand and whining to be touched by her soft hands before he realized how deeply the smell had gotten to him. Luckily, Kagome noticed the clock and, with a pat to Sesshomaru's head, left him to bo to her "school".  
There were other girls at this "school". He could smell them on her when she would come home. He could smell boys as well. That had never alarmed him very much. At least, not until today. Today, it became like a splinter in his skin. He thought he could ignore it, but it would just work its way in deeper and annoy him more and more.  
He eyed her mother with contempt. The woman had let her go, unescorted, and in heat, to a place filled (in his imagination) with eager young men. He growled. He was through trying to deny to himself that he cared. In the wake of her smell he'd proved to himself that he felt something for the idiot girl, even if it was only a mindless attraction, and he let his pride take a backseat to his outright jealousy that those boys at her school could be around her in her state. The thought of her pristine soul being sullied by them made him shake in hatred and frustration. There was always the possibility that the boys couldn't sense it as he could, but Sesshomaru didn't care.  
He looked angrily at the clock on the wall, hoping that it would give him some consolation.  
2:05?!?!? he wanted to scream. The day was possitively dragging. Normally, he would take a nap, but today, he couldn't bring himself to. He rose from the floor and headed for the living room, carefully holding up his injured leg.  
The girl's mother looked at him as he left the room.   
"You miss her today, don't you, Maru-chan?" she asked with a smile. "That's so cute." She went back to her washing.  
Sesshomaru didn't dignify her with a response. he simply passed into the next room and after that, the hallway, coming to his final destination, the genkan. It was there that he waited, staring at the door as his frustration mounted.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kagome clomped up the steps to the house looking ar her watch. 4:55. She was a little late today, but she didn't think anyone would mind. She slid the door to the genkan open and stepped in.   
"Maru-chan..." she said, a little surprised. He'd never waited for her at the door before. I guess he noticed I was late... she thought.  
The puppy stared at her with angry eyes that demanded to know where she'd been.   
She smiled at him as she slid her shoes off.   
"I'm sorry, Maru-chan. I didn't think that anybody would notice." She scratched his head.  
He pretended not to care and tried to walk away. He'd already givien up enough of his dignity today. Kagome saw him walking off, smiled again and scooped him up into her arms.  
This surprised Sesshomaru thoroughly. She'd never done it before.  
Kagome held the puppy to her chest and cuddled him, smiling and giggling, and she gave him a kiss on the nose. "Thank you for waiting for me," she beamed. "You're such a mean little guy. I didn't think you cared." She laughed again, gave him a squeeze and then put him down. Kagome gave the dog a pat on the head and stepped into some slippers lying near the edge of the genkan. She shuffled past him into the house.  
Sesshomaru stood there, bewildered. She sure is in a good mood... he thought blankly. He wondered if dogs could blush. He dertainly would be if it were possible. Her scent had been so strong as he'd been pressed up against her. It would have been perfect to fall asleep there in her arms, cradled against her soft chest and gentle limbs. He felt dizzy warmth creep over him as he imagined what her skin would feel like against his own and imagined how her fingers would feel dancing along the length of his arms or back or---  
He stopped, set his face into a scowl and shook his head. No doubt his father had been so bewitched, once upon a time. He limped into the house and made his way to the kitchen where he heard an exchange taking place between the girl and her mother. There, Sesshomaru sat and listened in. Her smell reched him again and every nerve ending tingled sending shivers through him. They weren't unpleasent.  
The noises of the room became like far-away murmurs as the dizzy warm feeling overtook him again. His chest ached and tightened. Kagome laughed. He watched her face in its expression of joy-- how her eyes squeezed shut tight, how her delicate lips parted as the sound, like the tinkling of bells, came out, and he found it impossible to breath.  
Kagome became sheepish and blushed slightly as the conversation took a turn toward another topic. The words were gibberish to him right then.  
Then, she mentioned "blah blah blah-kun." KUN? Wasn't that the suffix for a boy's name? The world came into focus again.  
"A date?" the mother asked.  
Kagome nodded. "Mm. Tonight at 7:30. That's why I was late coming home. He caught me outside and talked to me."  
What's a date? Sesshomaru wondered with suspicion. It obviously had to do with a male and a female meeting somwhere. Alone. OH no. Not THIS female. Not today, he seethed.  
"So, anyway, I won't be home for dinner. Hojo-kun is taking me to a cafe. I have to get ready." Kagome began to leave the room.   
Sesshomaru was livid. She's letting her go ?!?!?  
"Kagome--just a moment..."  
Kagome stopped. "Hm?"  
HA! he wanted to shout. Your mother is no idiot.  
She whipped to face the girl holding a plate of the sweet bread circles. "Have a cookie. You can take some for Hojo-kun, too."  
Sesshomaru's eyes bugged out. What is she DOING?!?!? he thought, trembing with anger.  
"Thank you," Kagome replied, taking a cookie, thinking for a moment and then taking another. "I don't think Hojo-kun is too keen on sweets, though. Besides, I don't want him to think I'm too interested in him. So, I'll just have to eat all these myself," she said, musing. "If Sota doesn't beat me to it."  
She smiled brightly and said, "I'm gonna' go get ready now." She began to skip off toward the hallway already chomping on a cookie.  
"Alright, dear," Mrs. Higurahi said as she set the cookies back down.  
Sesshomaru sat for a few minutes staring at the door Kagome had used as an exit. With a short growl, he finally followed her.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was several minutes before he could reach her room--at least, it felt like it to him-- and when he did finally reach it, he was greeted by her rushing back out again as she headed fo rhte bath. She had her towel draped over her right arm as she trapsed down the hallway with determination.  
Sesshomaru stared again, set his face into a scowl (remotely difficult with a muzzle) and, determined to ignore her, walked stiffly into her room.  
Kagome's room had not come into any drastic changes since "Maru-chan" had become a family member. It had, however, acuired a stack of books at the foot of the bed. These books were arranged in such a way that they might form a staircase for a a small dog. In this way, carefully climbing the makeshift staricase, Sesshomaru was able to take his place at the foot of the bed. Kagome had also seen fit to provide him with a zabuton and Sesshomaru made his bed on its cushiony surface.  
He felt dull pain behind his eyes as he lay there staring at the walls. He wanted to slight her, insult her, by falling asleep and letting her know that she meant nothing to him. But, there always seemed to be a nagging thought in his head-- What if she doesn't NOtice that I'm ignoring her?... There is nothing worse than purposely ignoring someone in hopes that they'll realise that they've somehow angered you only to be ignored by them. Sesshomaru snorted and began anew his staring at the wall.  
Kagome reentered the room after half and hour. Sesshomaru had dozed off, finally, his anger and disquiet having curbed themselves. The smell of Kagome's room had somehow managed to calm him in her absense. But, with the screeching of drawers being pulled out of thier places and the rustling of clothing filling the room, Sesshomaru's eyes began to open.  
The scene before him made him almost rear back in surprise. There was the girl standing before her dresser. She was trying to change clothes quietly, hoping not to wake the puppy, but his hearing was more sensitive than she ever could have imagined.  
He sat transfixed, unable to move, his spine feeling like a rod of cold iron. He swallowed hard. How many women had he seen do this before? They were countless. Demons had almost no feminine modesty and half of them went with no clothes at all. It wasn't as if he had never had a woman, either. So why did he suddenly feel so... nervous?  
He swallowed again and felt as if he shouldn't be watching, but couldn't seem to turn his head toward another direction. Finally, it seemed that she was finished. She wore a Cute little dress with short sleeves. It was yellow colored and had a flower print all over it. Kagome began to turn toward the bed and, Sesshomaru, freed from her spell, closed his eyes tightly, not wanting her to know he'd been watching.   
kagome sat down at her vanity to further prepare herself and Sesshomaru opened his eyes just enough to glance at her through his lashes.  
The ritual that followed took quite some time and Sesshomaru wanted desperately to ignore her, but simply couldn't find it within his power to do so. The girl smelled so strange to him then. He could still smell the inticing smell of her hear, but there was also a newly accquired scent--something fresh and clean. It was like peaches but it had something more to it and -- now what was she doing? Covering up the nice smells with something out of a strange bottle? Kagome dabbed on some perfume. Sesshomaru's nose wrinkled. Humans could never understand smells as he could. Why did she put that awful thing on?!? It burned his eyes and made his nose tingle. He let out a sneeze.  
Kagome whipped around to see the dog rubbing at his nose with his good paw. She smiled gently (it was rather a cute pose for Maru-chan to be caught in) and went to the bed. Bending to his eye level she cooed, "Whatsa' matter, Maru-chan?"Sesshomaru sneezed again. Kagome looked a bit sheepish. "Did I go a bit overboard wih the perfume, Maruchan?"  
In response, he tried to bury his nose int he cushion but ended up covering it with his paw.  
kagome blushed, feeling silly. "I guess I could go wash some of it off..." she said quietly and with that she patted him gently, rose, and left for the bathroom again.   
When she returned, she came straight to the bed and said, "Is that better?" Her face was nose to nose with his. The strong smell from before was almost gone now it seemed to be mingling with the other smells on her creating a rather pleasant effect. Sesshomaru felt warmth creep over him and a strange giddieness filling his chest. His tongue flicked out catching the tip of her nose.  
kagome smiled sweetly.  
Sesshomaru froze in place. He was mortified. What did I just do?!?!? his mind screamed. The taste of salt and peaches lingered in his mouth.  
kagome used one hand to wipe of her nose and the other to ruffle the fur on Sesshomaru's heas as she rose. She let out a little laugh. "I knew you'd start acting like a real puppy on of these days."  
This last remark made matters worse and benieth his white fur Sesshomaru's skin became re and hot with anger, frustration and embarrassment.  
Kagome took the second cookie from off the dresser and bit into it. Sesshomaru watched, wondering silently if he was truly turning into a dog and if the feelings he was getting toward her were simply the feelings that normal dog would have toward its master.  
Then, there was a strange piece of sweet bread dangling in front of his nose. Sesshomaru looked up.  
Kagome smiled. the piece of cookie was right in front of Maru-chan. "Go on. You want it? It's called a sugar cookie." The words seemed to fall from her lips. He wondered if they tasted the same as the rest of her and silently wishes he had aimed a little lower. This caught him off gaurd. What was he thinking?!? He grabbed the cookie from her hand in a desperate attempt to get her taste out of his mouth adn take his mind off of his previous thoughts.   
Had he not been so irrate, he might have enjoyed it more, but the cookie she'd fed him had been quite good and he licked his chops, gleaning crumbs out of the furn on his muzzle.  
Kagome scratched his head. "Glad you liked it."  
Almost on instinct, he nuzzled her hand.  
"You're such a sweetheart," she said, smiling. "I alsmot hate to leave you here."  
Sesshomaru stiffened. That's right--she's still leaving ... he thought. Jealousy and anger seeped into his attitude as he thought of her being with the boy, Hojo.  
"You be good while I'm gone, okay?" she said sweetly and with a last pat on the head, she left the room.   
Sesshomaru watched her leave. There she goes--all alone to go visit a man-- and in such a state-- and in such attire! That dress is barely covering her! He growled contemptuosly and decided that his best course of action would be to follow her to make sure that nothing happened.  
Sesshomaru carefully descended the pile of books and made his way across the floor. He heard her yell from the genkan-- "I'll be back! See you later!" and her mother's reply-- "Have fun, dear."  
Sesshomaru made it to the hallway by the kitchen. There was no need to hurry--he could track Kagome's scent from anywhere--but he had to get out before Mrs. Higurashi discovered him. If she found him trying to get out of the house he'd be in big trouble. He'd tried it earlier in the week and been locked in the laundry room until Kagome'd gotten home.   
sesshomaru held his injured leg close to his body and tried to move quietly past hte kitchen door. Mrs. higurashi was humming to herself and didn't notice as the tiny white furrball loped by. He hopped delicately down the single step in th egenkan and landed amid many pairs of shoes and sandals. His nose wrinkled and he quickly slipped out the open door and out into the sunlight. He loped quickly away from the door and toward the entrance to the Higurashi shrine. He noted dismally that there were many steps but he could smell Kagome's trail. With a snort, he began to go down the steps, one by one, making sure not to bump his left front leg.  
Sesshomaru made his way down to the sidewalk, found Kagome's scent and began to follow it when, quite suddenly, he saw a fast moving object coming around the corner ahead of him. His eues flashed forward and he looked at the strange creature as it moved smoothly along its black road. It gleamed int he sunlight and its eyes stared at him. Sesshomaru froze. Was it some sort of reptile? A descendant of a dragon? What did it want?  
It moved past him on strange black legs. Sesshomaru's jaw dropped. There had been a human inside of it. Hed it eaten it? He watched it proceed down the street, and noticed that as it stoppped, red spots appeared on its rear end. The thing disappeared around a corner and Sesshomaru, shaking his head in disbelief, continued down the street in the direction the monster had come from. He reached the corner only to be shocked into rigidity by the number of the monsters that her saw on the road. He blinked.  
The creatures moved in lines like ants. Sometimes they yelled at one another, screaming in their high-pitched voices. He watched them for a while. Some of their eyes glowed like lamps. A giant white one rumbled to a stop at the corner. It was covered in writing and Sesshomaru could see that it was filled with humans. Some were standing, some were sitting. many were reading parchments. The giant creature turned the corner, roaring as it went, and slowly rolled up to the side of the street directly in front of Sesshomaru. He swallowed hard.  
3 people, almost automatically, stood up and exited the giant creature through a folding door that simply appeared. The people exiting didn't look harmed or phased at all. Sesshomaru looked on in wide-eyed confusion as 2 of them came toward him. One shot him a smile and kept walking. The door on the creature closed and the thing rumbled to life again as it pulled in to the street and went on its way. More of the metal things zipped past and he stood transfixed. They all had at least one human inside who seemed to be manipulating htem. Good Lord! he thought. They're so large--why don't they just destroy those humans? He sneered a little in dissapproval.  
There was a whirring sound approaching and a bell tinged. Sesshomaru looked around to find its source when a 2 wheeled metal animal under a human swerved around him.   
Sesshomaru became slightly nervous after that and, shaking a little bit, edged his way toward the wall that marked the edge of the sidewalk.  
He hadn't counted on Kagome's world being so bizarre. sure, there were a few wierd things in her house, like the light boxes, her rattling clock, and that magic echo-box her mother was always listening to, but the strangeness outside her house was far mor disconcerting.   
He swallowed. Perhaps I should return to the shrine... he thought prudently. A sound startled him. It was a young man and a young woman riding double on a metal two-wheeled thing. The man was forcing it along by pumping his legs on the thin little beast's arms, which spun around in circles. The girl was sitting on a protrusion on the creature's back.   
The man laughed at what the girl was saying and they stopped at the corner, obviously waiting for something. They stared intot he sea of traffic.   
"Mou...." whined the girl. "We're going to be late, huh?"  
The boy looked at his wrist. Sesshomaru cocked his head and crept away from the wall hoping to gleen something from their conversation.   
The boy shook his head. "Mm mm. We will be right on time, I'm sure. The move won't start until 7:45. It's only 7:00." Sesshomaru arched a brow. Movie?  
the girl huffed. "But this is a date, Kakeru. I want dinner before the movie. If we get there on time, we won't get to eat."  
The boy stared in to traffic for a while. The girl whined again and threw her arms around the boy's shoulders.   
Sesshomaru balked. This is a DATE?!? Should she be touching him?!? Sesshomaru went rigid as he thought about Kagome acting in the same fashion.   
"Come on, Kakeru... Can't we go to the later show?" Across the street a light caught Sesshomaru's attention as it turned from a red hand to a green person. The boy began to move as the metal creatures stopped.   
"Asami..." he whined. "I already bought the tickets..."   
They moved out of range and Sesshomaru was left with a renewed determination to ruin Kagome and Hojo's date. He had also learned how to use the crosswalk.   
Sesshomaru sniffed along hte ground trying to find Kagome's scent again and, accomplishing that, began to follow it.  
Several streets, a few crosswalks, one train station (the train, of course, was, to Sesshomaru, a large metal snake) and one angry driver later, twilight finally came and the lights around the city began to disappear and they were replaced by electric lights. Since he'd seen the metal snake he'd almost been hit by two cars and countless bicycles. He was looking a bit frazzled, feeling a bit jumpy. He had learned that there were time to fear the cars and the bikes and those times had almost killed him.   
Sesshomaru sniffed the ground again. he would give up soon if he didn't find her. Kagome's world was a bit too much to handle in one day.   
The trail turned. He could see a shop across the street that was well lit. There were tall round tables next tot hte windows. A giant green sign in some foreign words was hanging over the door. Kagome's trail crossed the street to the building.  
She had to cross another street, he wanted to groan and he approached the corner white lines marked the crosswalk area.   
There was a yellow box on the lightpost. Sesshomaru stretched to his full hieght and pushed the button on the yellow box as he had seen a woman do earlier. The sign across the street changed and Sesshomaru looked both ways and began his steady lope across the street as a strange music played. He reached the opposite curb just in time for the light to change again.   
The building had a wooden deck around it. Kagome's trail led to the door, but he had no way to open it and he was afraid to be noticed by the humans inside. So, instead, he skirted the building and, looking throught he window, tried to locate the girl.  
He saw her, finally, with a young man. A boy, really. He looked innocent enough, but Sesshomaru still seethed and shook with jealousy.  
That must be HOJO... his mind growled. A rumbling began in his chest going unnoticed and he pressed his angry face to the glass, watching their exchange.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Starbucks?!? thought Kagome as she sipped her tea. Leave it to Hojo to pick some wierd American shop, she lamented. Ah well. It could have been worse... At least it's not Wackland or Mc Donald's or something...  
"Did you want to order some cake or something?" asked Hojo hopefully.   
Kagome shook her head, popping out of her dream world. "Oh no, thank you. I'm okay. Ha, ha...." She sipped her tea again. What am I saying? I skipped dinner... I'm starving!!!  
Hojo smiled. "I'm glad you've been feeling better lately. You aven't missed much school at all in the past few weeks."  
"Oh..." Kagome fiddled with her straw. "Thank you..." she added as an after-thought. It's true... Inu-Yasha...  
"Your rhuemetism must be all cleared up," Hojo beamed happily.  
"Uh... yeah..." she said. Grandpa... grrr....  
Kagome shifted a little.  
"So... What have you been up to lately? Anything interesting?" asked Hojo. He took a drink of coffee.  
Kagome brightened a little. "I got a puppy..."  
"That's nice. What's his name?"  
"Sesshomaru--but we call him Maru-chan," Kagome took another drink, a bit sheepishly.  
"Sesshomaru? Wierd name, but it probably fits, huh?"   
Kagome laughed and blushed a little. "Ha--yeah, it does-- It really does--which is wierd because the real Sesshomaru is a big jerk." Kagome laughed again and glanced toward the window.  
"....."  
"MARU-CHAN?!?!?" Kagome rose from her stool as she saw the angry puppy staring at her from the window.  
"Huh?" Hojo leaned toward the window. "H-Higurashi?" he said as she rushed past him.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The stomp of feet came to a halt behind him and he turned slowly, indignantly, to face the girl. Her hands were placed on her hips and her face was a twisted into an angry looking mask. Sesshomaru stared at her angrily and she stared back with just as much anger. Hojo finally joined her.   
"What are you doing here?!?" she demanded of the dog.  
He looked at her with defiance and limped over to place himself between Kagome and Hojo.  
Hojo looked down. "Hm? Isn't that cute!" Sesshomaru bristled and let out a growl.  
"Whoa..."  
"Maru-chan," she rebuked. Kagome picked up th edog a little harshly and raised him to eye level. "You don't growl at Hojo-kun. BAD DOG."  
Sesshomaru grew more angry at that and began to give her the look of death. He squirmed in her hands and tried to get free. He had been embarrassed mor than he had ever thought he would. He'd been chided by Kagome and called a bad dog. A BAD DOG. He really was her pet. That would not do. Sesshomaru writhed in her hands.   
"Stop that..." she argued."You'll hurt yourself. What if I drop you?"  
Sesshomaru didn't stop and Kagome looked at him angrily and set him on the ground. Sesshomaru shook his fur and stared at her.  
"He's spunky, huh?"  
"Stubborn, more like it," said Kagome, disparaging. "I can't believe he followed me. Crazy Mutt. With a broken leg, even..."  
Hojo smiled. "He was just worried, I'm sure." Sesshomaru bristled again. "Ha....um..... Maybe we should do this another time..."  
Kagome nodded dejectedly. "I guess you're right. I probably ought to take this idiot home."  
Sesshomaru glared at her.  
"I'll see you Monday, then, Higurashi," said Hojo.  
"Okay. Thank you. I had a nice time," she replied.  
"Me, too," said Hojo. "Take care of yourself--and be carefull on the way home."  
"I will; thanks," and with that, she looked at Sesshomaru the puppy and said, "Come on, brat--we're going home."  
Sesshomaru was a bit happy and angry at the same time. He had accomplished what he'd set out to do, but he had also verified that kagome'd been having a nice time. He'd also pissed her off.  
They walked a little ways, Sesshomaru being irrate and Kagome being quiet and inscrutable, although Sesshomaru could smell her anger like a perfume hangin off of her. There was that other smell, too, but it only succeeded in making him jealous, not endearing her to him in the least.  
They reached the first street and Kagome looked down at the puppy for some sort of sign. Sesshomaru stared at the street in front of the.  
The light changed and kagome watched as Sesshomaru looked both ways, noted that all the cars were stopped, and crossed the street. Kagome was aghast and ran to catch up with him after watching him limp his way across.   
"So that's how you did it, huh, nut?" Sesshomar glanced at her in his peripherals. They arrived at the other side. "You're pretty clever for a puppy. I'm surprised you didn't get squished, though. You shouldn't do things like that," she chided and bending down she swept him into her arms and against her chest.  
Sesshomaru's eyes widened and he began to struggle in surprize. The girl kissed his nose.  
"Sorry I worried you." She didn't put him down.  
Sesshomaru felt hi temperature hieghtening. His face grew hot.   
Kagome hugged him gently and said, "Let's go home," with a sigh. She proceeded to walk and Sesshomaru, escaping her grip for a moment, craned himself up a bit and licked her chin.   
Kagome laughed and said, "Now, quit that." She wiped her chin on her shoulder, righted her head and hugged the dog closer.  
Sesshomaru sighed, letting himself be cushioned by her soft chest, inhaling her smell. It's not so bad... this life... he thought as he was rocked by her walking. Perhaps he could be content to stay there--amid the humans at the shrine--forever beside his girl. He pushed any thought of her growing up, getting married and leaving home away from his mind. For the moment, he existed to simply be a comfort to her--an extension of her. And fot he moment, he would allow it. He knew that he could never go back--not back to being the Sesshomaru that he was--not if it would mean hurting this girl--and for a moment--just for a moment--that was just fine with him.  
  
Ch.9 end  
  
Chapter 10: Bathroom on the Right: Inu-Yahsa's secret  
(above title is ref. to wrong lyrics to CCR song)


	10. Bathroom on the Right: Inu-Yasha's secre...

Hello, all you Inu-Yasha fans out there! Boy was I surprised when I visited the site and found that I had gotten about 16 reviews since I'd last posted a chapter! (True... 9 of them where from one person... but... I swear I don't know them!) That was really cool and I _was_ going to start working on my new Harry Potter fic, but I decided, since you guys are so loyal, that I'll type the next chapter first. This one's pretty short, anyway. 

OH! And for those of you not well versed in Creedence Clearwater Revival (not that I am, but...) the phrase "Bathroom on the right" is a famous misinterpretation of one of their song's lyrics that should really be heard "Bad moon on the rise." I thought that was kind of funny, but I felt I had to explain myself for those of you that didn't get it. (Namely my foreign friend Joanna. Hi, Joanna! I didn't know if you knew CCR or not, so... here it is.)And also, sorry about not spell-checking that last chapter. The program I did it in had no spell check. But if you guys have read this far, you're used to it by now!

Chapter 10: Bathroom on the Right: Inu-Yasha's secret

(At least I think it's chapter 10,anyway...)

It had been 2 weeks since Inu-Yasha had started trailing the demons. Their trail was fairly erratic and unpredictable. To complicate things, the idiots could fly which made them nearly impossible to track by scent.

It was about noon saw Inu-Yasha, looking frazzled and worse for wear, wound her way through yet another town. She passed throughout he town with nervousness, hoping no one would notice her. That, of course, was next to impossible as Inu-Yasha was a beautiful young demon in a bright red kimono which, at the moment, as rather dirty an nasty looking.

People stared at her, but no one spoke to her. She seemed to have an agenda, as she looked at no one and didn't deviate from her route.

"There's a forest on the other side of this town... Of that I'm sure... I can smell the trees..." she thought.

Another few minutes trapsing through the town and Inu-Yasha was through, bursting out into a lush forest. She explored it for a few hours before finding what she'd been looking for. The mouth of the cave gaped at her. It looked so out of place in the hillside. Trees surrounded it on all sides. Inu-Yasha hoped for miles.

She entered the cave slowly and cautiously, hoping that there would be no inhabitants and made her way toward the back. Satisfied that no one was present she decided to make the cave her camp for the night. She returned to the entrance and struck out to look for fire wood, as she figured the night would get chilly. It began to rain lightly before long and she hurried back to the cave with her firewood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Night fell. 

Miroku trudged through the forest wearily. Mud squelshed beneath his sandals as he walked. The rain, so light and innocent earlier, had begun to come down in torrents and was now a veritable downpour.

Miroku sighed and tried to protect the lantern he was carrying. Tracking the swath of destruction the 2 demons had been leaving was easy. Finding them was not. It seemed they attacked places at random and went home when they got bored. But where was home? He had no idea and was beginning to get sick of the whole thing. The last village he'd left said there was supposed to be a demon living in the woods that might be able to help shed some light on the whole thing--some kind of Tengu or something--but all Miroku had found was an unhelpful water-sprite. He'd also gotten lost.

_Right now I'd give my left eye for a cave or something..._ he thought in dismay. He parted the tree branches before him. 

"Well, wadda' ya' know!" he said with a smile as he looked at the rather inviting cave.

"Right now, I'd give my left foot for a hot woman in a tight kimono." 

Nothing happened. 

"With a whip?..."

He let out a sigh. "It was worth a try..." With a shrug he entered the cave and shook his tunic vigorously. The water made a nice spray as he did so. Miroku looked around the cave. It was fairly difficult to see even with his lantern.

He sniffed the air. "Smells like fire..." he thought. "Someone must've been in her recently." 

"Hello-o-o-o-o-o...?" he called out in curiosity. There was hardly any noise to be heard over the din of the rain. Miroku took the lantern from the end of his staff and held it in hand. He raised it but kept it no higher than it had to be. "I mean no harm. Are you still here?" 

There was shifting in the back of the cave as Miroku took a few steps.

A rumble began, deep and low. "Leave me alone," growled a voice from the void. 

Miroku was surprised by it and blinked. He could see in the darkness a glow. The embers of the fire he'd earlier smelled. No doubt he'd scared his "friend" into scattering their flames.

"You don't have to worry about me," he said. "I only need a dry place to stay the night."

A growl came again, although, he realized, it seemed a little forced.

"Find somewhere else!!!" roared the voice. He knew then. The voice was familiar. 

"I-Inu... Yasha?..." he wondered aloud, a smile creeping across his face. 

There came a contemptuous growl from the recesses of the cave. "Don't ask questions, Miroku--just piss off. Don't come near me or I swear to **_God _**I'll rip you to ribbons."

Miroku's face became serious. "Why? What's wrong?" He stepped forward again.

"I'm warning you, Miroku!" she yelled, but Miroku could sense something like alarm in her voice and he knew that something was amiss.

A rock whizzed by and glanced off the metal of the little pagoda lantern that Miroku had brought. He placed it on the ground at his side.

"God damn it, Miroku! Stay there---" she yelled as he quickly reached for her.

"Nope. There's something wrong with you and I'm gonna find out what."

He latched onto her arm. 

She wasn't trying to bet away! She cold destroy him and yet she was letting him capture her! Did she actually have feelings for him? He smiled at the thought and felt a little sheepish. It wasn't everyday that a demon fell for him. 

"Miroku, let me go-- or so help me--"

"You'll what?" he asked and he yanked her out of the shadows and into the light of the lantern and his own waiting arms.

She found herself against his chest and was strupified to find that he wasn't groping her. He held her tight and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm here now--- HOUGH!" He was punched in the gut.

Miroku reeled a bit, fell down, said, "Ow...?" and looked up. Shock fell across his face. "You're---"

Inu-Yasha stared at him defiantly, a crimson hue tinting her face. "_Yeah_?"

"You're human!" the priest finally got out. 

Inu-Yasha avoided eye contact, tossed her now raven locks and scoffed.

"Well, you know. Shit happens."

Miroku began to get up and dust himself off. _No wonder she wasn't struggling much... she's weaker... _he thought dismally.

Inu-Yasha stomped over to the remnants of the fire.

"So now you know," she said angrily as she tried to get the sticks gat hered up and back into a pile. The lantern flickered hauntingly.

Miroku moved the lantern so that Inu-Yasha could see better. "You had me worried. I thought it was something serious," he said with a little smile and a sigh of relief. He picked up a stick and brought it to the pile.

Inu-Yasha threw down the pile she'd been carrying. "Are you out of your _gourd?!?_ This is like a death sentence for me if anyone finds me. Bad enough that I'm a girl right now. Why the hell do you think I was holed up in this cave all day?"

Miroku opened the lantern's door and poked a stick in hoping that it would catch on fire. "You knew that it would happen?" 

Inu-Yasha snickered. "This always happens on the new moon. It's cause I'm a half-youkai."

Miroku paused thoughtfully. "Ah..." The stick he had put into the lantern had begun to burn, but he continued to watch the movements of the agitated and angry girl.

As beautiful as she was as a demon, it couldn't compare to her looks as a human. Her black hair suited her very well and it looked more silky and shiny--not wiry and wild like it looked when it was white.

_Her eyes are violet..._ he mused with a smile. Seeing a strong, beautiful woman so vulnerable just made him melt. He felt his cheeks grow hot.

Then it hit him. 

"Oh, jeeze..."

"**What,**" Inu-Yasha demanded irritably.

Miroku shook his head. "Nuh---nothing." He slid the flaming stick under the pile and watched as more of the wood caught fire. He settled in and sat with his legs crossed, hoping that the girl would ignore that he was blushing like a schoolboy.

Inu-Yasha sat down as she saw that the fire had started again. She warmed her hands. Miroku watched her as she warmed them to sufficiency and then she wrapped her arm around her waist.

_She must be cold..._ Miroku thought, but he knew that any offer of his to keep her warm would be seen as perverse so he kept his mouth shut . He didn't want to alienate her. 

They sat in silence for a while when finally the girl spoke. "Listen, Miroku--you've got to keep our mouth shut about this. If anyone finds out about it I'm as good as dead."

Miroku nodded. "Don't worry about anything," he said and before Inu-Yasha knew what was happening the monk had rounded the fire and pulled her to him. "As long as I'm with you, I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

She struggled against his chest, her face blazing.

"How many times do I have to tell you?!? I'm a MAN, God damn it! A MAN!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning broke and Inu-Yasha awoke to find that the priest was cooking something.

"Good morning," he smiled.

She looked at him suspiciously but strode toward the remnants of the fire and plunked herself down opposite him.

"Does nothing phase you?" she asked as she reached for one of the little eggs that were nestled in the embers. She yanked it out hurriedly and tossed it from hand to hand as she realized how hot it was. 

Miroku sat confusedly for a moment and then remembered the previous night. After he'd grabbed her she'd hit him pretty damn hard and told him he better not be there in the morning.

"Oh, _that_," he said as he poked the fire's embers with a stick. "I'm not one to be so easily deterred." 

"I've noticed," she said as she cracked the top of her egg with a claw.

"You're back to normal, I see."

"Yup," she said as she began to pick at the hard egg within. 

"We should probably get moving after breakfast." He grabbed an egg as well and waiting for the storm, hoping that there wouldn't be one.

"Mm," said the half-youkai in agreement. She suddenly stopped. "Whadda' ya' mean 'we'?"

Miroku smiled. "Well.. you have to keep an eye on me now that I know your secret--just to make sure I don't go blabbing it to anyone..."' 

She growled and eyed him harshly. "What?!?" she demanded. 

Miroku took and egg into his hand. "Well, we can help each other out--who knows how powerful those 2 lightening demons are by now?"

"I can handle them by myself, thanks," she growled. 

"You really don't have a choice, do you? Not unless you want your secret told," said Miroku as he flaked the shell off of his egg.

"You _WOULDN'T..._"

"Wouldn't I? I might and I might not." He popped some egg into his mouth. "But can you really take that chance?"

Inu-Yasha seethed. "You bastard. Are you blackmailing me?"

Miroku smiled, raised his eyebrows and finished off his egg. "Come on. It'll be fun."

"Fun my ass," she grumbled.

"I'd like to. What has it got in mind?" 

"Leave my ass out of this!" she growled in alarm and clamped her hands over her hind-quarters. 

Miroku shrugged. "You're the one who brought it in."

"Listen up, pervert-- You make lewd comments--I hurt you. You look at me wrong-- I hurt you. You touch me, I maim you. Then I hurt you. You got that?" 

Miroku nodded with contemplation. "Sounds like our current arrangement. Okay."

The dog-demon pointed at him. "And you stay out of my way when it comes to the shikon shards. They're mine."

Miroku's brow furrowed, but the shards were just a pathway for him--not his destination. Then again, wouldn't the shards make his poor dog-girl more powerful and demon-like? She already pummeled him enough to destroy any lesser perverts. 

With a little bit of reservations, Miroku said, "Fine. Iagree."

Inu-Yasha nodded curtly. "Fine."

They set out after finishing breakfast and by lunch Miroku had been on the receiving end of many a thwack to the head. He was bearing up admirably, however and bore a smile on his face rivaled in intensity only by the look of hatred on Inu-Yasha's.

Chapter 10, Owari

next: Chapter11: Short and Sweet: an excerpt from Maru-chan's new life. 

(And when I say short, I mean short...)


	11. Short and Sweet: an excerpt from Sesshom...

Chapter 11

Yeah, this one's short, but it was up fast, ne, NE?!? 

Thank's to everyone for the support! I'm really having a hard time getting motivated, so, obviously, your reviews help a lot. Soon, however, we will be on Christmas vacation and then, I'm afraid, I will be away from the computer for a while. See, I'm not all nice and toasty warm and fuzzy with sprinkles, niether. Fuzzy toast would such, actually. NYAO! 

Mmmm.... Listening to the kick-ass soundtracks of Lain and Triggun on my winamp files. YEEEEEHAW!

Now, what the heck did I name this thing?...

Ah... self-explanitory...

Chapter 11

Short and Sweet: an excerpt from Maru-chan's life

"SESSHOMRU!!!" came the rumble.

_Ut-oh... _thought the bedraggled puppy with a gulp. _What'd I do now? She only calls me that when she's mad. _ He poked his head out from under the cool shade of the stairs and cast his "owner" a glance.

Kagome, with barely contained anger, held up her year book. "Sesshomaru..." she growled. 

The puppy gulped again. _Oh yeah... I forgot about that..._ It had happened 2 weeks ago after Kagome's date with Hojo. The next day, Kagome had still been in heat and had flounced off to something called a "mall" with some of her (thankfully)female friends. She'd locked him in her room to make sure that he didn't follow. Sesshomaru took it upon himself to rummage through her things in boredom.

The book that Kagome was currently holding had become the target of Sesshomaru's anger after he discovered that there were multiple pictures of Hojo in it. Those pictures met with a swift end. 

Sesshomaru sighed. He'd forgotten about that. He had acted like a fool while Kagome had been in heat and he had since amended his ways. He's realized that his jealousy was silly and had begun trying to act a little more like a normal dog. The most difficul part of all, however , was waiting for his feelings for her to go away. After Kagome had finished her monthly heat the feelings had eased, but Sesshomaru was surprised to find that they didn't disappear. This proved that they were more than just feverish longings in him caused by her scent--he actually _felt_ things for her.

Sesshomaru grunted and pulled himself out from under the stairs. His left leg was still in its splint but it bothered him less and less lately. Sesshomaru was thankful for that. After he had discovered that he had feelings for Kagome he'd been trying to distance himself from her. Coming to grips with the fact that he would never return to normal was one thing, contrary to what he once thought. He could deal with her being his master. He could not however, deal with having these feelings for her and never being able to do anything about them. So, Sesshomaru had taken to hiding from the girl. 

He sat down in front of her knowing full well that a rebuke was coming. And it did. He zoned out, ignoring her. She finally stopped talking, bent over, and shook her finger at him. 

Sesshomaru blinked at her and the girl sighed and began to disparage, talking about how he shouln't be so jealous, or mean, or, in this case, (as he was ignoring her) indifferent. She was just talking by then and with another sigh, she broke off. Kagome reached her hand out to the dog and scratched his head.

_Damn..._ he thought. He felt his tail begin to wag making sweeping movements. It was as if the fool thing had a mind of its own. Before he knew what was happening he leaned into her hand, guided it over the curves of his head.

Kagome smiled weakly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you..." she said sincerely. "Come here." She reached out both of her hands an put the yearbook on the stairs.

Sesshomaru hesitated. "Come on," she urged. With a sigh she began to reach forward as if to grab him. "Oh, _you_..." she chided.

Sesshomaru stepped back out of her reach. _I can still control my feet--well, 3 of them, anyway_, he thought coldly. his tail continued its arc but slowed considerably.

Kagome stared for a minute, a little hurt but she soon recovered, sighed, and got up. "Have it your way," she said as she picked up the book. She thought to give him another pat on the head, decided against it and entered the genkan.

Sesshomaru watched her go and sighed. It was all for the better anyway. If Kagome ever found out who he really was nothing would be the same again. She cared for him only in his current form and he shuddered to think what would have happened if she'd have found him in his demon form so badly hurt. She would probably have told Inu-Yasha to finish him off. 

He scowled bitterly and, dragging himself back under the steps, began to brood.

Chapter 11

Owari

next

Chapter 12

Inu-Yasha Gets Some "Tail": the demon-orphan arrives


	12. Inu-Yasha Gets Some Tail: the orphan dem...

So, yes, it's been a while since I've written, and yes, you've probably gotten bored from waiting, well, I'm here to assure you that either this chapter or the next will have some things in it that you've all been waiting for. (That even goes for you, Joanna.) I'm really sorry that it has taken me so long to get this done, but my chapters will probably be loaded sporadically for quite a while. It's my senior year of college and I've got a ton of stuff to do. Due to some hounding from my friend Joanna, however, I will be working on this for a while. I may also be shortening it a little. Although when I started, this was supposed to be a really long thing, that has turned out to be a larger endevor than I first anticipated and I'm having a bit of trouble making with the goods, you know what I'm saying? Anyway... I may be shortening things so I can get to the end a little quicker. But don't worry. The end is still quite a ways away. Keep up your support! I'll get this thing done eventually!!! (Everyone in Japan say goodbye to Joanna! Joanna, have a nice flight back to Poland!!! E-mail me!!!)  
Manekochan  
Also, I'm having trouble with uploading, so my format will change cause this particular program will not let me use extra stuff like "underlining" and junk. All caps will be emphsis. * will be thoughts. ~will be itallics. Okay. That's it.   
  
Chapter whatever this is... (I think it's 12)  
Catchy title I thought up 6 months ago!   
Hajime!  
(I think the title was actually, "Inu-Yasha Gets Some 'Tail': the orphan demon appears" but I am too lazy to log onto the internet and look.)  
  
  
Miroku peeked through some bushes and into the clearing ahead. He sighed. "Same thing."  
"Hm?" Inu-Yasha shoved him to the side. "Lemmie see---" The scene was the same as always--a battlefield basically decimated by powerful attackes, the earth scorched and the surrounding trees blackened.   
Inu Yasha sighed. There was no trace of the thunder brothers. "Shit..." she groaned.  
"Indeed..." said Miroku as he went around the half-demon and pushed his way through the bushes. Inu-Yasha looked over at him and then followed.   
During the past week the monk had gotten more serious. He hadn't groped her half as much as he had in the beginning, he didn't make innuendo, and he had been speaking to her less and less. In spite of all that, however, Inu-Yasha was beginning to feel that there was something wrong with the monk. He seemed a little off-kilter. It was as if he was trying to be normal to prove something to her.   
She huffed. *Thick-headed moron... I told him I was a man,* her mind grumbled. *It doesn't make a difference HOW much he changes.* She did feel a little bad. The poor guy was really going to be in for a surprize when he found out the truth. If he found out the truth.   
She sighed and scanned the battlefield. There was the stench of blood everywhere. Inu-Yasha covered her nose. "Ulch," she sneered.  
Miroku walked around the grounds noticing deep gashes in the earth. He bent down to examine one.   
Inu-Yasha looked toward the horizon. There was another forrest a couple miles away. She growled. "If this stupid blood smell would dissipate, I could try to scent them..." There was a slight breeze. She kicked a rock angrily.   
Miroku came to her side. "The carcasses are all over this field," he said, looking a bit pale.   
Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "You okay, Miroku?"   
The monk nodded but began to look a little angry. "They are all human."  
Inu-Yasha nodded. "Yup. I could tell from this horrible stench." She began to walk. "We gotta' get away from this blood-- I can't smell a damn thing with it. The breeze right now out to let e know which direction they went."   
"Mm....." Miroku said reluctantly. "Shouldn't we bury them?" He paused to say a prayer.   
Inu-Yasha stepped and turned. "Look at thier clothing-- they were warriors-- they weren't normal people. Who's to say if it wasn't better that they died?"  
Miroku frowned and looked at the demon out of the corner of his eye. "Better or not, all are the same in death. The bodies should be dealt with respectfully."  
Inu-Yasha frowned in return. "Yeah? Whatever. You can start without me. I'll be back."  
Inu-Yasha leapt into the air, and began a flight into the wind. She came down after passing the blood cloud. Inu-Yasha sniffed the air.   
"Hm..... They did move upwind... It's like they're not even trying to be inconspicuous. " She scratched her head. The scent was discipating. "At least I have the direction..." she sighed and began to make her way back toward the bloodsoaked battle field.   
Miroku had decided that they hadn't any impliments to bury the men and with the number of bodies, it would take them forever, so he had begun to simply say a prayer over hte bodies. (That and he didn't feel like burying all those bodies--- that's a lot of work!)  
Inu-Yasha returned to Miroku's side. "Give up on becoming a grave digger?"  
Miroku finished his prayers. "Perhaps our time would be better spent on tracking down the demons responsible. The longer we dally, the higher the body count will be..."  
Inu-Yasha nodded. "'Cept these guys probably weren't innocent," she restated with conviction.   
Miroku sighed. Inu-Yasha huffed.   
--  
And the sky grew dark.  
  
"Hm? What's with this?" asked Inu-Yasha.   
Miroku looked up at the clouds rolling overhead. "Perhaps a storm is upon us?"  
"Feh--not likely," she said.   
Quite suddenly a giant ball appeared before Miroku and a wailing began. "Gi-i-i-i-i-v-e-e-e-e me-e-e-e-e Shi-i-i-kon-n-n Shards-s-s-s-s..." came the voice. The two of them stared at the ball for a moment.  
Miroku cleared his throat, extended his staff and smacked the ball to the ground. It bounced once and with a pop transformed into a little boy.   
"Ow!" it whined, rubbing its head. "You didn't have to hit me so hard..."  
Miroku bent over the boy. "It's only a child," he said.  
"I'm a demon," it huffed, it's tail bristling.   
"Oh?" said Miroku. He poked it with his staff.  
"Quit it!!!" yelled the demon.   
Miroku smiled and stood upright. "You said something about Shikon Shards?"  
The boy set his face into a grimace and stuck out his tongue. "Mmuuuuu! It's none of your business, human."  
Miroku laughed. "Ho-ho!" and he smacked the kid in the head again.   
"Cut it out!" he whined.  
Inu-Yasha spoke up. "Miroku." The priest stiffled a chuckle and drew back his staff. Inu Yasha looked at the tiny demon. It's brown hair was pulled into a pony tail and its pointy ears poked throught the side. It wore a dogi with a leaf print on it and a hakama. Except for its tail and the fact that its feet were tiny paws, it could have passed for human. The little demon sniffled.   
"Did you see what happened here?" she asked, bending down.   
The demon nodded. Inu-Yasha could see it'd been crying recently. "Mmmhm. It was the thunder brotheres. I've been following them..."   
Miroku crossed his arms. "Now why would you do that?"  
"Because I'm going to kill them, " he growled. "But... I lost track of them..."   
"You want to kill them..." Inu-Yasha repeated flatly. She arched a brow.   
The boy nodded determinedly. "Those bastards killed my pa. I've been following them for about 2 days now. They did this yesterday but... they flew away..."  
"Ah..." Inu-Yasha raised to her full hieght. "I get it now. That's why you want our--"  
"My--" added Miroku with a nod.   
"His-- shikon shards," she said grudgingly. She looked annoyed. "You want to get stronger. I can relate to that. What's your name, kid?"  
The boy sniffled, wiped his face with his sleeve, and stood up. "It's Shippou."   
"Well, Shippou, you're a brave kid. But, I think you better call off your hunt for a while and let me and Miroku here handle those two assholes."  
Shippou set his face into a stubborn grimace.   
"You think I can't do it?" he asked.   
"No offense, squirt, but, no, you better just--"  
Shippou turned red and began to fume. "Are you saying I can't handle them?!? What makes you think you can? You're a girl!!!"  
Inu-Yasha twitched. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, you little twerp. Now, what's going to happen--" she said, cracking her knuckles as her anger began to mount, "is you're going to--"  
Miroku stepped between the two demons. "--Help us find them."  
"Hah?" asked Shippou.  
"What the fuck are you saying, Priest?!?"  
Miroku smiled. "One moment, please," he said to Shippou. He turned and drug Inu-Yasha off to the side.   
"What the hell is the matter with you, Miroku?" she hissed.  
"Listen," said Miroku in a hushed voice. "That little demon is going to go after those 2 monsters no matter what. They killed his father. Unless he sticks with us, he's going to get hisself killed. Do you want that over your head?"  
"Psshh! One less demon in the world," she grumbled. "Isn't that a good thing?" But, she began to walk toward the little fox-demon. Miroku watched the exchange.   
"So-- you gonna' help us or what, Kid?" the larger demon barked at the smaller one.   
Shippou crossed his arms. He was stubborn and prideful. But, he was also scared and alone. "Okay. BUT-- when we find them I don't want your help."   
"No problem. All we want are the shikon shards," said Inu-Yasha.   
The little demon seemed a little more satisfied at that and said, "We should move before it gets dark. There'll be lots of scavengers her later."  
"Never thought of that," said Miroku, thoughtfully. "Good idea." He elbowed Inu-Yasha who gave him an icy look. He simply nodded toward the kitsune.  
"Ah... yeah... Good... thinkin'... Let's get outta' here," grumbled Inu-Yasha. "Come on."  
Shippou ran ahead of them a little. "They went this way," he said pointing to the direction Inu-Yasha had already discerned as being thier direction.   
"Nice going, kid," she said, grudgingly humoring him. The kitsune bridged the distance between them and leapt onto Inu-Yasha's shoulder.   
"What... what are you doing?" she asked, slightly annoyed and slightly nervous.   
The kitsune looked at her in surprise. "You want me to walk?!? I always hitch a ride."  
Like Myouga... Inu-Yasha thought in annoyance as she began walking.   
"Look here, kid--" she started.   
"My Pa used to let me be kind of his navigator," said the little demon, his eyes getting bleary. He laughed weakly. "We used to--"  
"Okay, that enough. You can stay there as long as you shut up-- you got it?" said Inu-Yasha, a bit frazzled.   
Shippou nodded and was silent for a minute. "Why do you want the Shikon Shards?" he asked after a while.   
"Weren't you supposed to shut up?" she grumbled.   
"You know what?" "What."  
Miroku watched them get further away and smiled to himself. Inu-Yasha really was nice-- she just wouldn't admit it. He felt his face tint a little.   
"Oi-- Miroku. Are you comin' or what?!?" she yelled to him.   
Miroku chuckled slightly and joined them.   
"'Bout time. What were you doing? Looking at my ass again?" huffed the demoness.   
"Well, you know, Dear-- it's just so nice to look at," he said smiling. He craned back to see it.   
"Ha ha," said Inu-Yasha flatly.  
"Are you two married?" asked the little demon on Inu-Yasha's shoulder.   
"Alas, no..." sighed Miroku, theatrically.   
"Are you out of your tiny minds?!?" yelled Inu-Yasha. "I'm a fucking man, okay?"  
"Uh-huh..." said the kitsune, avoiding eye contact. He wondered silently what kind of situation he'd gotten himself into.   
"Which is really too bad because you have such a nice body," said Miroku, lamenting.   
Shippou laughed a little.   
"Don't you think we make a nice family, the three of us?" asked Miroku with a smile.   
Shippou smiled as Inu-Yasha began a string of explitives. Miroku grinned like a maniac.   
  
End of Chapter 12(I think)  
  
Next chapter:  
Chapter 13: Lightening Always Strikes Twice: Inu-Yasha vs. the Thunder Brothers   
  
Notes:   
A dogi is a kind of shirt like the kind you'd wear in karate or something. A hakama is like pants, sort of that tie at the top.   
"Shippou" means tail, hense the title to this chapter.   
Jya ne! 


	13. Lightening Always Strikes Twice: Inu-Yas...

Right. So, hello. Um... It's me... Manekochan again. I decided to type this up today because I've gotten a landmark (for me) 100 reviews! I really ~ought~ to be working on my show. Stupid show. Okay okay. I'll get started with this thing already. Special thanks goes out to everyone who reviewed. I need a massage. That would be great. Okay okay. I promised to give you a chapter that you were waiting for, so here it is.   
Note to self-- Hiten is the humanish demon and Manten is the other one.   
Oh-- and just so you know, I don't know crub about geographical stuff, so the setting for this chapter is just for story purposes. It probably doesn't exist in Japan. I don't know. Also, Sesshomaru's sword is the Tensaiga and I changed the number of Shikon shards the two demons had-- it is a little later in the story than when the events of the manga take place, so it's possible that they have gotten two more demons by then.   
Just as an aside to all the "Take a Bath!!!" comments I've been getting, Inu-Yasha hates hot water. It's in one of the later mangas. He goes to Kagome's house and goes into the furo and comes out cursing a blue streak because the water was way too hot, when Sota was just fine with it. Obviously, Inu-Yasha is highly sensitive to hot water so I assume he wouldn't take baths very often and if he did, they would be in cold water. Sesshomaru's avoidance of baths was for story purposes, so I did cheat there. You're right, he ought to have been bathed by now, but MAYBE Kagome was afraid to remove the splint! Eh? EH?!? Okay, so I'm grasping here. Just enjoy the damn thing.  
  
Chapter 13:Lightening Always Strikes Twice: Inu-Yasha vs. the Thunder Bros.  
  
"Hraugh!" yelled Inu-Yasha as her claws swept through the monster. It fell in two halves before her in a bloody mess.   
Miroku was beside her (he had hoped to protect her, but realized she didn't neccessarily need it).  
"Heh!" she laughed, slinging the blood off of her hands. She approached the body and plcked out the obvious Shikon shard.   
"Fu... Just one?" she sighed. She turned to Miroku. "You can come out now, Shippou. It's dead."  
Shippou peeked out from behind Miroku.  
"I-I-I -- wasn't scared," he said, shaking.   
"Yeah?" asked the half-demon with a a smirk.  
They had come across the ogre as they'd been trailing the two brothers. The creature had sensed their shikon shards and attacked.   
Shippou hopped back over to Inu-Yasha's shoulder to stare at the body.   
"How come the brothers missed it?"  
Inu-Yasha shrugged, shifting the little kitsune. "Beats me. Maybe he was sleeping when they came by or something. He wasn't much of a challenge," she said and swung her arm in a circle. She popped her neck and said, "Let's move on, shall we?"  
"Mm," nodded Shippou.  
Miroku, as usual, followed behind them.  
"Can you smell that?" asked Inu-Yasha after a while.   
Miroku nodded. "Sulfur?"  
"Mmn," she replied. They continued to walk. They'd been walking in a North Western direction for the past week. Ever since Shippou had joined them, they'd been assailed by more demons than usual but they figured it was just the area. The demons seemed to be animal-like, mindless, and territorial. The oni they'd recently fought had been the only one with a shikon shard so far.   
They'd long since passed most forrests and were getting to fairly barren land. It whould have been getting colder, but it hadn't been and Inu-Yasha wondered why.  
They soon got their answer as they approached a large canyon. It's floor was cracked and dry and the heat coming from it was intense. There were strange holes all over it. Inu-Yasha cautioned her companions to be quiet as they stalked nervously through the canyon. They sulfur smell was stronger-- almost overpowering and the dog-demon held her nose.Strange hissing sounds came from everywhere and Miroku whispered that they ought to avoid the holes, as he had a strange feeling about them.   
Inu-Yasha acknowledged him with a nod and they stalked onward, Shippou hiding as best he could in Inu-Yasha's hair without losing his line of sight.   
The ground suddenly began to rumble and the group stopped in their tracks. Behind them there was a giant rushing noise and a pillar of water rose in the air, continued for a few seconds and then settled back down into its hole. The parched earth darkened and steamed where the water had landed.   
They stood there staring at the little hole, thier hearts all beating fast. None of them had expected it and all of them had been a tad surprized. They began to recover their bearings and faced forward again when they heard laughter echoeing down the canyon walls.   
They became nervous again but soon realized that they had gone unnoticed and that the laughter was not directed toward them. Inu-Yasha signalled for them to move again and the troup began their trek through the hot canyon.   
At one place, the canyojn turned and they flattened themselves against the jagged wall and peered around.   
"That's them..." Shippou whispered into Inu-Yasha's ear as they watched the two laughing demons. One had perched himself on a large rock. He was a large demon with a big head and an enormous mouth. There were 3 shikon shards imbedded in his forehead.   
The other demon was more human looking but had evil eyes. A braid went down his back and there were wheels turning at his feet. He floated lazily in the air and held a spear in one hand. There were 4 shikon shards on his forehead.  
"That big one is Manten," Shippou provided in a whisper. "And the little one is Hiten."  
"No problem," whispered Inu-Yasha to the kitsune and she began to draw the Tensaiga with a wicked grin.  
Shippou didn't seem to hear and, instead, was looking directly to their left (the wall being to thier right) at a hole (albeit a small one) that had begun to gurgle. Miroku, too, noticed this with a "hm?" and just as he followed Shippou's line of sight the geyser erupted into a spray of hot liquid. Shippou yelped in alarm and Miroku quickly placed himself between his friends and the potentially scalding liquid, trying to shield them with his tunic.   
The geyser resettled and Miroku gave Inu-Yasha a quirky smile. "Chivalry isn't dead," he said with a wink.   
Inu-Yasha sneered. Shippou looked sheepish and tried to hide behind Inu-Yasha again. "I'm sorry," he whispered, whining.   
"S'okay," said the girl demon, but the laughter down the canyon had stopped and she knew they'd lost the element of surprise. Her grip began to tighten on the Tensaiga.  
*No use in hiding, now,* she thought. "Shippou--"  
"Hm?" he asked.   
"Stay with Miroku."  
"What? But--"  
"DO it," she said angrily and shifted her shoulder. Shippou leapt over to Miroku who regarded him with little more than a glance. He looked sternly at the demoness.   
"You're not going out there alone," he said with conviction.   
Shippou was clearly frightened, but agreed. "Y-y-yeah."  
Inu-Yasha checked her sword. "Watch me," she said and she leapt into the air with the Tensaiga raised.   
"Ho ho! So we DO have a visitor!" came an amuzed voice. It was accompanied by the clang of metal.   
Miroku, with Shippou in tow, rushed past the turn in the canyon.   
"This should make for some fun, Manten; you stand aside while I slay this one," said the human-ish demon as he blocked the sword with his spear.   
"You fucks! Don't think I'll be so easily subdued," growled Inu-Yasha bearing down hard against the spear. She was surprized at the demon's strength and felt foolish.   
Manten chuckled. "It's been a while since you've had a worthwhile apponent, brother. This should make for a good show if she is as good as she thinks."   
The demon Hiten laughed, grunting a little. "Yes, I believe she is strong-- although, not quite strong ~enough~. Are you here for our Shikon shards, little lady?" he asked and with a hard pusth the demoness was shoved off and to the side. She slammed mercilessly into the wall.  
"Inu-Yasha!!!" cried Shippou in alarm.   
She stood up and readied the sword again noting with chagrin that her two friends had come into the danger regardless.   
"What's this?" asked Hiten. He looked toward Miroku and the kitsune. "You've brought friends?"  
"Don't you ignore me, you fuck!" she said, lunging. The Tensaiga slipped past the demon as he moved gracefully out of the way.   
"How boring. Your swings are wild and careless," the demon said as he slipped behind her and crooked her neck in his arm. Inu-Yasha dropped the Tensaiga, struggling against his one-armed embrace. She dug her claws into his arm.   
"Do you imagine that hurts?" he asked glibbly. He craned her face upward. Inu-Yasha could hear the strange noises coming from behind her and knew that Manten and Miroku (possibly Shippou) were now engaged in battle.   
~Shit...~ she thought bitterly and bore down hard on the demon's arm. She cried out in a growl as she felt her side pierced by the spear the demon held in his other hand.   
"My. That DID hurt that time. Naughty naughty..." He looked at her face. "You are a pretty one, aren't you..." he mused, twisting the spear a little. "Maybe I could tame you-- keep you as my pet-- how is that?" He bent his face toward her neck and breathed in her scent.   
Inu-Yasha's eyes flashed. "I'd rather DIE!" she screamed and found the energy to wrench him off of her. She flung him over her head and into the canyon wall. She stood there panting, trying to get her breath back.   
"B-Bastard..." she growled and went for the Tensaiga. She glanced over at Shippou and Miroku and was surprized to see that Shippou was physically attacking the large demon. She noticed, however, that the demon seemed to be wearing the pelt of what looked to be a large fox and assumed that it was Shippou's father. Miroku was trying to beat the demon with only his staff and Inu-Yasha wondered why he didn't use that hand thing he was always talking about.  
She turned back to the demon she'd left, only to find regaining his footing and raising into the air. "Perhaps I have underestimated you," he said with a smile. "GOOD." And with taht he plunged toward her, his spear facing forward as he hoped to catch her with the full force of it.   
Inu-Yasha blocked it with the Tensaiga and sent him a ways to the side. He turned in the air and stood, waiting, watching, and generally being amuzed.   
Inu-Yasha's face hardened. There was a sudden thud behind her as Miroku hit the ground with a grunt. Manten flung Shippou off of him and into the ground as well.  
~God damn it...~ she thought and made as if to move.   
"Ah, ah ah," chided the flying demon as he plunged his spear into her yet again. "I'm your opponent," he purred. He yanked the spear out and watched her collapse to the ground in a pool of blood. "Let's play, shall we?" he said as he yanked her up by her kimono. She kicked at his and freed herself, turning back to her friends. The Tensaiga was still clutched in her hands.   
Shippou was at the creature's waist again and tugging at his father's pelt. Miroku was looking irrate and calling for Shippou to get back. he was still on the ground and it seemed that his staff had been knocked away. He glanced over at her adn saw that, she, too, was not fairing so well.   
Shippou gave a final tug on the pelt and it loosed, falling to the ground. Shippou began to skuttle away, dragging the pelt with him. Manten focused his attention on the priest who had finally begun to unwrap that hand of his.   
*The shards!* thought Inu-Yasha in alarm. She felt the air behind her being sliced and knew that the spear was coming again. She dodged it and grabbed it, flinging the demon into the ground as he held it. She wasted no time and stabbed the Tensaiga downward, pinning him in place.   
She plunged her claws into her own side and drew them out, dripping in blood. She brought her hand back and yelled out, "Claws of Blood!" sending the red arcs of hard blood flying.   
Miroku's hand was almost unsealed when the blood claws sliced into the demon's head and effectively freed the shards along with more than a little of the demon's forehead.   
Shippou saw the shards' glints and popped in to capture them as they hit the ground. He popped out and hid behing Miroku as the dmeon began to fall toward them with an angry look in its eyes.   
Miroku, knowing then that Shippou was in a safe place, loosed the beads over his hand and unleashed the vortex. Inu-Yasha watched as the giant demon disappeared and Miroku clapped the beads over his hand again.   
"Manten!!!" cried the demon from behind Inu-Yasha and she heard him get to his feet. He grabbed her by the kimono yet again and flunger her to the side. She looked at his chest only to find that there was no blood. The Tensaiga was on the ground as the demon had pulled it from the earth and flung it aside, as well. He it really done not damage? she wondered.   
Miroku was beginning to stand then, but the demon was flying for him. Inu-Yasha rushed forward to grab the Tensaiga again and gave chase to the demon. She swung at his back only to have it pass harmlessly through him with a strange light.   
He turned, hatred burning in his eyes, grabbed her yet again and said, "I tire of you. " He threw her to the side into a sea of little holes and continued on his way.   
*Miroku! Shippou! They're going to die!* she thought in alarm and began to scramble for them. *Sesshomaru's sword is worthless. Why the hell did he keep it?~ She threw it to the ground. ~I have no choice-- somehow, I have to get the Tetsusaiga to work for me again,* she thought and, pulling it, ran. Geysers of sulfur water rained down around her, stinging her, searing her. She ignored the pain and raced on toward her two friends.   
The demon floated before them, it's staff raised. "~YOU~," he bellowed. "You have destroyed my brother?!?" He was shaking with anger. "YOU a filthy human and a kitsune pup? How can this ~BE~?!?" he demanded. "It is of no matter! You will die ~NOW~!" he screamed and the spear began to come down with swiftness.   
The Testusaiga came down with a power and an urgency that Miroku hadn't thought possible of a sword. It buried itself into the ground beside his head and devided the demon before him in half. Shippou yelped and the half of the demon nearest them collapsed to the ground in a splash of red blood. The other half of the demon thudded to the ground as well.   
"I don't think so," said a somewhat familiar voice and the Tetsusaiga was withdrawn. Inu-Yasha smirked. "Heh." The Tetsusaiga became the rusty old blade again and the half-demon sheathed it.   
"Fwah! Didn't think I could pull that off," Inu-Yasha said in relief.   
Miroku and Shippou stared blankly.   
"Whatsa' matter, Shippou? Di'ja enjoy the show?"  
Shippou nodded in wide-eyed silence.   
"Nice job getting those Shikon Shards, anyway." Inu-Yasha began to move. "Now, where'd I put that stupid sword?..."  
Miroku stood up, dusting himself off. His eyes never left Inu-Yasha as the demon searched for the sword amid the geysers. Shippou shook off the shock and retrieved the shikon shards from the dead demon's forehead before it could regenerate.   
"Do you think she noticed yet?" said Shippou as he put the new shikon shards with the others.   
Miroku shook his head.   
Inu-Yasha picked up the Tensaiga without reverence, looked at it closely and then tucked it under her belt. *If Sesshomaru kept this useless thing, there's gotta' be ~SOME~ reason.*  
"Inu-Yasha," came a voice and it was accompanied by scampering.   
"Yo..." she replied in acknowledgement.   
Shippou ran before her. "Um..." the kitsune was mysteriously silent.   
"What? Spit it out, kid," she growled. She stopped. *That was an awfully deep growl for a girl...* she thought suddenly. She growled again. *That was definately low.* She looked at Shippou, who had begun to shiver a little, then at Miroku who seemed to still be in shock.   
*Only one way to find out...* she thought, becoming nervous. *Please, oh, please...* She opened her kimono.   
  
"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" There was a large smile plastered to the half-demon's face as he howled in triumph. Inu-Yasha grabbed a frightened Shippou byt he paws and began to swing him around in a dizzying circle.   
"I got my body back!!!" he screamed giddily.   
"Inu-Yasha..." whined the kitsune from the inside of the spinning vortex. "Gonna'-- gonna' throw up..."  
"Op!" Inu-Yasha set the kitsune down and tossled his hair. "Sorry, kiddo."  
"Oooog..."  
Inu-Yasha smiled and turned toward Miroku. "Yo, Miroku!" he called happily.   
The priest was staring at him in red faced, sullen anger. He quickly averted his eyes.   
"Hm." Inu-Yasha huffed. "Whatsa' matter with him?" he asked aloud. He picked up Shippou and set him on his shoulder. "Don't fall off," he joked.   
The kitsune hung on and tried not to vomit as Inu-Yasha began to walk over to Miroku.   
"Yo--" came Inu-Yasha's voice.   
Miroku wouldn't turn to face him.   
"What the hell is the matter with you, Miroku? You're pissed off, I can smell it. " Inu-Yasha crossed his arms.   
"I'm not," said Miroku. "Let's move on." He still didn't face the half-demon.   
Inu-Yasha set his face into a huff. "Fuh. I ~told~ you I was a frikkin' man. Didn't I tell you?"  
Miroku sighed. "I recall that you did."   
"Damn straight," nodded Inu-Yasha. "So you've got no reason to be moping around." Inu-Yasha began to hum. "I got my body back. HA! It's about damn time, too. Wonder what did it..."  
"Maybe it was the hot water back there..." offered up Shippou. He was slowly getting over his motion-sickness. The new Inu-Yasha wasn't that different for him. He even seemed a bit happier than he had been as a girl, so Shippou was okay with the change.   
"Maybe... Or maybe the spell just wore off," he muzed. Then he stopped, turning red in the face. *If MY spell wore off... then maybe...Sesshomaru.....*  
His face darkened.   
"Shippou-- Miroku... We're going to go see a friend," he growled suddenly. Shippou cringed at the sudden change in attitude.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A light rain was falling. Miroku and Shippou were standing benieth a tree calling out, "Come on, Inu-Yasha. It's okay. Come down."  
"NO," came a whiney woman's voice.   
"We'll just find you some hot water and everything'll be okay again," said Shippou.   
A few more minutes of coaxing saw the bedraggled lass pulling herself down the path behind Miroku and Shippou.   
"So the cold water makes you a girl again, huh?" asked Shippou.   
"Shut up," she growled back in contempt.   
Miroku smiled bitterly. "She's just snippy."  
"Shut ~UP~!" she yelled back. "YOU're just mad 'cause you have no chance with me, you damn sex-maniac."  
Miroku's face flushed and he went silent. Shippou looked back and forth between the two "adults".   
~Good grief...~ he thought. "Listen, Inu-Yasha-- you're wierd, but you're still my friend so I'm not gonna' treat you any different than I did before."   
"Feh," she scoffed, but she was gratefull.   
"At least you can change back to a man again. That's a little better, isn't it?" asked the kitsune trying to find SOME good thing about the situation.   
"Yeah..." grumbled the demoness. The kid was right. She knew now that all she needed to stay a boy was hot water.   
Shippou righted himself and faced forward. He'd soothed the half-demon. He looked at Miroku, whose face was determined and angry looking. He was still slightly flushed and Shippou knew that the poor priest would be inconsolable for a while.   
Shippou felt wierd. It was like going on vacation or a trip with two fighting parents. He sighed. *I hope this is resolved soon...* his mind whined pathetically and he shook his head.   
  
Chapter 13  
End  
  
Next time, on a very special "Blossom": Inu-Yasha goes to check up on Kagome and, upon finding Sesshomaru is still a puppy, is forced to make an important decision. Does he tell the secret of the curse?   
Chapter 14: Inu Yasha's Dilema: Honor thy ... Brother?!? 


	14. Inu-Yasha's Dilema: Honor Thy... Brother...

Ello, Ello Ello. What 'ave we 'ere? It's Manekochan again. I haven't written in a while. I just can't get into typing this all up. Ah well. Here we go-- I'm still not past the pre-written part yet. Is that a surprise? I was all gung-ho when I started this and now it's kind of dribbling off. I stopped at a good place-- possibly the end of the story for a while-- but I haven't written on it in months. Blah blah blah. I'm just venting.   
My modem is broken, yet again, so who is to say when this will actually see the gentle glow of a computer screen other than my own. Should be fixed soon, though. Joanna, you little rat! Write me!!!  
Two Weeks later: Modem is still broken. Graugh! And they obviously didn't bring the computer in today... What's a girl to do?  
Okay, so anyway, just in case you've forgotten by now or I've somehow forgotten: ~...~ means Italics. CAPS means bold. * blah blah blah* means thoughts. I think that's it.   
Hell. My boss just called and the assistant manager at work is quitting in 2 weeks. That means my hours will go up considerably. That means less time to do everything else I want to do. It means a real frikkin' job and more responsibility. And I'll sorely miss the assistant, Jason. He was a good friend and I've known him for 3 years now. I can't help but feel bummed out now.   
  
Chapter 14: Inu Yasha's Dilema: Honor thy ... Brother?!?  
  
Kagome looked at her calender and bit her lip. She narrowed her eyes, opened them, turned the calender, checked the month and then stared at it again.   
On the floor Maru-chan yawned. Kagome had drug him in after she'd heard the weather report. Supposedly, there was going to be a storm, but Sesshomaru saw no signs of it.   
"Is that right?" she asked with a cock of her head. "That can't be right... Is it right?"  
"Maru-chan..... you've been here a month and 3 weeks," Kagome shook her head. "That can't be right..."  
*Why not?* he wondered. *You've been in heat twice since I've been here, I've made a fool of myself at ~least~ twenty times, your mother has made 4 batches of sugar cookies,* he shut his eyes. *You've been on 2-- ~TWO~ dates with Hojo and your grandfather has called me Inu-Yasha 7 times. Your brother has called me Sessu-negger (after Arnold Shwartzeneger) 12 times and you have called me Sesshomaru 5 times. You have given me a 'stay' only twice. That's about 2 months in ~my~ book...* he thought bitterly.   
He stood up and limped over to the bed. *And, ofcourse, the cretin whose leg I took was so week that only 10 weeks will be sufficient in healing it.* He climbed the books to the bed and plunked down on teh comforter.   
"I can't believe he hadn't come back yet..." she said with a bit of worry. "He always comes here and drags me back in no time flat. This time I guess.... I guess I'm here for good..." she said with a bit of reluctance.   
Sesshomaru set his face into a scowl. She was thinking about his brother. She was missing him. ~HIM.~ He bristled. Was there no justice in the world? He buried his head under his right paw and tried to sleep.  
Kagome let out a sigh and turned toward her chest of drawers. Sesshomaru heard the telltale creak and squeak of the drawer as she pulled it out and retrieved her pajamas.   
Kagome started off for the bathroom. She'd started the habit of changing in there after she'd caught Maru-chan sneaking a peek at her. On the bed, Maru-chan shifted a little, somehow knowing that she was thinking about that time.   
......................  
  
Miroku snapped the beef jerky off with his teeth and chewed it slowly.  
"Hey-- can I have some?" asked Shippou, already reaching for the dried out meat.  
Miroku moved it out of his reach but did not speak and did not aknowledge him. He simply looked forward and ignored all stimuli.   
"Come ~ON~," whined Shippou, jumping up and down. "I'm hungry too, you know..." he kicked at the floor of the hut.   
"Hush, child," came an old woman's voice. Old Lady Kaede turned to face them with a bowl in her hands. She set it before the kitsune.   
"Hwah! Thank you, Kaede!" The old woman simply nodded and the kitsune lifted the bowl and began to slurp up the soup inside. Miroku chewed the beef jerky in silence.   
"See; she's a lot nicer than you are, MiROku," he stuck out his tongue. Miroku aknowledged him with a sideward glance, stood up and bowed to Kaede.   
"Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Kaede, but I think that I will be waiting for Inu-Yasha outside," and with that, he exited. Shippou watched him go with surprise.   
"He's still moping?" he shook his head and slurped up some of the soup.   
They had finally reached Kaede's village after 2 weeks of travel. Reluctant to show them the magic well, Inu-Yasha made hasty introductions to Kaede and pawned them off onto her while he went to check on Kagome.   
"What troubles the monk?" asked Kaede of the small demon.   
Shippou shrugged, swallowed the last of the soup, wiped his mouth, set down the bowl and said, "He's been like that ever since Inu-Yasha got his body back."  
"Oh?" Kaede took the bowl from the boy and went to ladel some more soup.   
"Thank you," he said giddily as she handed the bowl back to him. "Yeah. You'd think the poor jerk had fallen in love with her." Shippou guzzled down some of the soup. "This is really good!" he said, beaming.   
"Thank you," said Kaede, but her mind was still on the monk. *Poor fellow...* she thought. *If he truly has fallen in love with the girl Inu-Yasha, then I pity him... I really do...*  
  
.....  
  
Miroku sat on the hill just outside the village. He watched the stars as they passed. There were no clouds in the sky at all.   
Miroku looked up and sighed. *Things have definitely changed for me...* he thought quietly. *I don't know why I stay with those two. That idiot Shippou is always pestering me and... I can't face Inu-Yasha, ~still~. I feel so betrayed by her... I know it's not her fault but... why did I have to meet her while she was a girl?*  
Miroku flopped down against the grass. *I feel like such an idiot...* He sighed again. *Tomorrow, I'm going to plut this all behind me-- Inu-Yasha is a guy and I'll start treating her like I do other guys. And when she's a girl... I'll ~still~ treat her like a guy.* He nodded in conviction. "That's just all there is to it." He crossed his arms. "Yup."  
.....  
.....  
"God, I need to get laid," he thought as his arms dropped back down to his sides again.   
  
..............................  
"Huh?" Kagome turned to face the bed. Maru-chan akwowledged her by lifting an eyelid.   
"You feel that?" she asked.   
Sesshomaru face the wall in reply.   
"It felt like... a demon..." she said. "With Shikon shards..." her heart skipped. "Maybe... Maybe Inu-Yasha?" she wondered aloud.   
On the bed, Sesshomaru growled lowly.   
"W-well," said Kagome. "I don't care if it IS him. I'm just going to tell him to go on. He has Shikon Shards, so he obviously doesn't need ME," she huffed. "But then... why is he coming back?" she wondered.   
"Tap tap tap," came the sound from the window. Claws on glass. It had a distinct sound to it and she knew before she turned that there would be a white-haired dog-demon at her window.   
Sesshomaru bristled as Kagome went to the barrier and opened it.   
"I see you're still in one piece," she said fiegning anger.   
Inu-Yasha glanced over at the bed and saw the puppy.   
"Funny. I was going to say the same thing about ~you~."  
Sesshomaru bristled and growled.   
"Hush, Maru-chan," Kagome chided.   
"Ma-" Inu-Yasha's face reddened but he waved his anger away and said flatly, "Look, Kagome. I gotta' borrow your mutt there for a second."  
"What?" asked Kagome, paling.   
On the bed Sesshomaru got to his feet and bristled some more.   
Inu-Yasha walked to the ged and picked up the dog by the scruff of his neck. "Nice pooch. Don't worry-- I'll bring him back," he said. He gave the dog a shake.   
Kagome's eyes flashed angrily. "Now wait just one minute--" she yelled, but Inu-Yasha was already out the window.   
.....  
  
"She won't find us here," he said to himself as he set the dog down on the floor of the shed.   
Sesshomaru bristled and growled.   
"Oh, shut up, Will ya'?" sneered Inu-Yasha. "I'm not gonna' hurt ya'. Stupid dog."  
The puppy quieted and began an intense stare at the dog-demon. *He is male again... but how?*  
"Listen up, mutt--- you're probably wondering how come I'm a boy again, huh?" The puppy simply stared at him, fuming.   
"I ought to kill you--right here--right now--" he said menacingly. "But that'd just piss off Kagome and no matter how much I want to... You're still my brother."  
Sesshomaru's bristling stopped. Inu-Yasha stood up and reached up on a shelf. He brought out a steaming kettle.   
"I stowed this in here before I came to get you. It oughta still be hot enough." He looked at the puppy sternly. "I'm sick of fighting with you. I'm gonna' show you how to change back-- but you gotta' promise me you'll leave me and Kagome--- ~espe~cially Kagome-- alone. You got that?"  
Sesshomaru blinked. He was serious. Inu-Yasha was actually calling a truece between them.   
"You agree?" asked the dog-demon.  
Sesshomaru nodded.   
"Okay," said Inu-Yasha, his stomach in knots. He didn't think his brother could lie-- he didn't seem to ever have to, but still. Inu-Yasha was unsure when he let the hot water fly and it rained down upon the puppy.   
The kettle fell to the ground with a clang. Before Inu-Yasha was a crouched, naked and wet Sesshomaru. There was a clap of thunder outside as the storm finally broke.   
Sesshomaru looked over at his brother who was slightly stunned, but trying not to show it.   
He looked down at his hands. The splint on his left leg had fallen away and clattered to the ground as it had become his arm again.   
He felt his left arm, swung it, tried to find the seams of the place where he'd attatched it. Sometime during the past 7 weeks the weakling's arm had become his own. There was no way to replace it. He sighed in frustration as he realized that he now had a permanent arm that was weak and fragile. On the bright side, it seemed to be healed.   
"You... you gonna' keep your word?" asked Inu-Yasha apprehensively.   
Sesshomaru turned toward the door. "Am I not honorable? Yes, I will keep my word. The insight one might gain from living in such a form for a time is enough to make one rethink the past. I had already made those resolutions you sought from me on my own. I only needed to find a way to break from your 'dear Kagome.'"   
He rested his hand on the door to the shed.   
Behind him, Inu-Yasha let out a sigh of relief.   
"Inu-Yasha...."  
"Nn?" The boy looked at his brother.   
"I have never hated you. Not really. I am sorry for having caused you so much pain." Sesshomaru opened the door.   
Inu-Yasha stood, bewildered when Sesshomaru moved to go.   
"Hrm?"  
Inu-Yasha looked down at the drenched puppy.   
"I forgot to tell you... cold water changes you back again. Heh heh..." The dog demon scratched the back of her head.   
Sesshomaru bit her leg.   
Inu-Yasha kicked him. "Cut that out, stupid! Go say goodbye to Kagome or else I'll get blaimed for you disappearin'." With that, Inu-Yasha made for the well-house. "I'll see ya' on the other side." She disappeared into the darkness and Sesshomaru sat blinking in the rain.   
  
"Maru-chan!" Kagome called out the window.   
Sesshomaru stiffened for a moment. He thought to stay, but Kagome saw him, his white fur standing out against the ground and she ran from the window.   
Sesshomaru knew that any moment she would burst through the door carrying a towel and would drag him back into the house.   
His face grew long. *That house is my prison...* he thought glumly. *No... This body is and now I have a means to be rid of it.*  
He felt a pang of guilt about not seeing Kagome one last time but he pushed it aside and ran for the well house, knowing, hoping, that he could forget Kagome as a demon. He avoided thinking about how she would no doubt be standing, calling for him in the rain, wondering where he was. He held his breath and leapt into the well, felt the strangeness of the voic and then felt hard earth benieth his paws.   
Sesshomaru looked up. The sides of the well were tall. How was he to get out?   
Inu-Yasha poked her head over the side of the well.   
  
Chapter 14 End.   
  
Next time:  
Chapter 15  
Reconciliation  
(warning Will Robinson!!! Drama ahead!) 


	15. Reconciliation: The End of Inu 1/2 (or r...

Hello. I know it's been a while. For now, this is going to be the last chapter (provided I can fit it all in here) and it also marks the end of the pre-written stuff. Yes, I know it's a cliffhanger and yes, I know that gives you the right to shoot me on sight, but finishing this isn't my first priority and it hasn't been for quite some time. I want to thank everyone who stuck with me, and egged me on, especially you, Joanna. I wouldn't ever have typed this thing in the first place if you hadn't made me do it. I'm sure I'll get around to it later. Maybe even before the Inu Yasha manga is over. ^-^ I also lost my glasses yesterday and got a mega sunburn. This sucks...   
Manekochan  
(If I start typing again in a week, somebody kill me...)  
  
Chapter 15  
Reconciliation  
  
Shippou played with an acorn on the floor of the hut while Kaede ate her soup. She wondered quietly about what would happen. She wondered if Sesshomaru was even still living with Kagome. Kagome was probably fine, given her spirit and "Maru-chan's" new collar, but Kaede still wondered. She especially wondered about Inu Yasha and his intentions. If Sesshomaru wanted to stay in Kagome's world, would he allow it? Would he KILL Sesshomaru? Surely not with him in such a pathetic form. Still...  
Kaede sipped the soup slowly.  
The flap opened and a slightly damp female dog-demon entered. Kaede swallowed her soup and sat her bowl down. Shippou waved and spun his acorn somemore. A slightly damp puppy nosed in through the flap.   
Kaede stared at it. "This is..."  
Inu-Yasha nodded. "Yup. Can you boil us some water, Granny?" she asked as she plunked down indian-style on the floor.   
Sesshomaru avoided looking at the old woman.   
Shipppou hopped over to Sesshomaru, shoving his acorn into his pocket. He looked at the puppy, then at Inu-Yasha. "What's with the mutt?"  
Sesshomaru growled.   
"It'd watch it if I were you, Shippou. This is my brother Sesshomaru." Inu-Yasha stretched out and lay on her side with her head propped up on one hand.   
Kaede traversed the room and gathered up a kettle to hang over the fire.   
Shippou offered Sesshomaru an acorn.   
Sesshomaru raised a brow and the kitsune tucked the acorn into his pocket yet again.   
Inu-Yasha kicked at Shippou lazily. Shippou dodged. "Cut that out," Inu-Yasha grumbled. She looked around the hut as Shippou took his place. "Where's Miroku?" she asked.   
Shippou avoided eye contact. "He said he would wait for you somewhere else. Outside. He probably doesn't know you're back yet."  
Inu-Yasha huffed. "That idiot. Is he still sulking?"  
Shippou shrugged and played with his tail evasively.  
Inu-Yasha sighed, knowing the pup was avoiding her questions.   
  
*Who is Miroku?* Sesshomaru wondered. He looked around the room. *Inu-Yasha has many friends...* he thought. *This is new...* He looked at his younger brother (sister, right then...). *Perhaps... perhaps it is the girl's influence.*  
"Speaking of sulking..." said Kaede from across the fire. Inu-Yasha's face grew hard. "Are you and Kagome still fighting?"  
Inu-Yasha turned her head angrily away. "If we are, then it's none of your business," she growled.  
"I'm surprized she let you take him," said Kaede, referring to the puppy. "She seemed fairly attatched to him the last time I saw her."  
Inu-Yasha grumbled and avoided looking at her brother.   
Kaede cleared her throat. "At any rate, you've brought him with you so you two must be resolved."  
"Hm." Inu-Yasha said in reply. She looked at the opposite wall in silence. She still didn't quite trust her brother. She didn't really WANT to. She still wanted to feel betrayed by him. WHY did he tell her that he never hated her? What was he playing at? His time with Kagome hadn't changed him THAT much, had it?  
She grumbled again and punched her fist into the floor of the hut.  
The others looked at her with questioning eyes and Inu-Yasha grew red. She drew her hand out of the floor. She thought to leave, but decided that if Sesshojmaru got the hot water before she did, he might start a fight with Kaede (The old woman HAD collared him...) so Inu-Yasha settled down and decided to bide her time.  
Shippou spoke up. "Who's Kagome?  
  
He received a glare and from the demoness and went back to playing with his acorn thinking, *If looks could kill...*  
Kaede sat with her eye closed and said, "Kagome is the reincarnation of my sister."  
Shippou's mouth hung open. Inu-Yasha growled. "She is no one's reincarnation-- would you just drop it?  
The demoness got to her feet and began to pace. "Old Woman-- is that water hot yet?"  
Kaede glanced at the kettle. "No."  
Inu-Yasha grumbled yet again and Sesshomaru watched as she paced the floor.  
  
...............................................  
  
Sesshomaru opened his eyes peeking through wet chunks of hair at the equally wet Inu-Yasha. Inu-Yasha had placed the untransformed Tetsusaiga in his hand just in case Sesshomaru got any ideas.   
Shippou peeked at the demon from behind Inu-Yasha's legs and Kaede felt her breath catch. She'd never known Sesshomaru was so gorgeous.   
"Kaede," said Inu-Yasha flatly, his eyes not leaving his brother.   
"A-ah?" she responded.   
"Give me his clothing," Inu-Yasha ordered. He heard shuffling behind him as Kaede looked for the kimono and other pieces.   
"Here," a voice said as the cloth was shoved into his left hand.   
Inu-Yasha nodded his thanks and stared at the crowched and dripping Sesshomaru. The Tetsusaiga was pulsing with feeling. It could sense that there was a demon in front of it and it wanted very much to transform.   
Inu-Yasha turned the Tetsusaiga toward its scabbord and sheathed it with a serious look on his face. He handed Sesshomaru's clothing back to him with an unwavering gaze.   
Sesshomaru paused for a moment and looked at his brother. he took the clothes from the younger demon and unfolded them. He set the hakama (pants) on the ground and stepped into it, pulling it up to his waist. He wrapped the long ends around his waist and tied them in a traditional know. Then, Sesshomaru slid into his kimono.   
He found his shoes and fur-wraps and, finishing his ensemble, turned to Inu-Yasha.   
"The Tensaiga, if you would please," he said in his silken voice.   
Inu-Yasha turned his hands over the hilt of the Tetsusaiga protectively. "I knew you hadn't changed..." he growled, preparing to draw the sword for battle.   
Sesshomaru arched a brow at his brother. He was tempted to mock the half-demon about his bad hearing but decided that it would not be worth it.   
"The TEN-saiga," he restated calmly. "Not the Tetsusaiga."  
Inu-Yasha's face grew confused. He turned one of his hands around the hilt of the other sword under his belt.   
"This useless thing?" he asked.   
Sesshomaru nodded.   
Inu-Yasha smirked, yanked it from his belt and tossed it to his brother. "There ya' go," he said. "Don't know why you want that thing, though. It doesn't work."  
Sesshomaru gave a shrug and stowed the sword under his belt.  
"'Zat it?" asked Inu-Yasha harshly.  
Sesshomaru nodded solemnly and began to walk toward the exit. He didn't face the hut's inhabitants again, but said, "I don't expect you to have forgiven me yet."   
Inu-Yasha looked at Sesshomaru reproachfully, but inside he was struggling. In the end, the silence went on for at least a full minute before Sesshomaru exited.   
Shippou sighed with relief. "He was scary," he said, leaping onto Inu-Yasha's shoulder. Inu-Yasha's face was still set into a frown. "Inu-Yasha?" asked the kitsune as the half-demon continued to stare at the exit.   
Shippou felt a hand on his dogi (shirt) and let out an "Ahhh?!?" as he was lifted off of his perch and dropped onto the floor.   
Shippou looked up. "What's hte big idea of doin' that?!?" he demanded, but Inu-Yasha was already gone and the flap over the door touched back down against the frame with a gentle "clack".  
Shippou blinked.   
  
..............................................  
  
"Sesshomaru--"  
The demon turned at hearing his name.  
"Is that true? What you said?" demanded Inu-Yasha from about 10 yards away. The night was quiet and the silence seemed to asail Inu-Yasha.   
The two brothers were standing a ways away from the hut. Sesshomaru hadn't taken flight yet-- it was as if he hadn't even thought to, not having done it in so long.   
"It is true. I have never hated you," said the elder calmly.   
Inu-Yasha's face grew angry. "Then why did you turn on me?!?" he demanded. He could feel his eyes aching but he wouldn't let Sesshomaru see any tears.   
Sesshomaru allowed a small silence. To tellt he boy everything would alienate him again and he didn't want to do that. Not when they wree so close to being brothers again. So, he resolved to leave out the bits about Kikyo and Kagome.   
"Because I wanted to make you stronger," he said. A weak smile tugged at him as he recalled his arm. "It has worked well."  
Inu-Yasha's face was still set in a look of resentment, but he took the words in.   
There was more silence and Inu-Yasha looked at the ground, thinking. "Why?" he began. "Why did you do that?" He looked up, gaining anger and momentum, not paying attention to the fact that the tears he had so wanted to hide were now streaming down his face. "Why did you desert me when I needed you MOST?!?"  
Sesshomaru looked away. He stared at the trees in the distance.   
"Answer me!" yelled the half-demon.  
"There has never been a time that I have known the way to show attatchment. You knew me then. I was cold at best and murderous at worst. Not hating you..." he paused. "Or rather... CARing for you..." he paused again. "Was not something I was used to. In my mind, I did as best for you as I could. I protected you until I thought you could protect yourself and after that I fought you to TEACH you. I know now what I should have done and I appologize."  
Deep down, a part of Inu-Yasha was saying, "I knew it! I knew it," but a larger part of him was saying, "Don't trust him. He can't have changed so much so quickly. He's still the bastard he always was."  
There was silence as the younger brother fought with what to say. The tears were still rolling down his face and it was then that he noticed them and furiously wiped them away with the sleeve of his kimono. The firerat fur was rough against his skin and he rubbed it so harshly that his cheeks became red and raw.   
Inu-Yasha felt small. He wanted-- so badly-- to believe that Sesshomaru had changed-- again thought of him as a brother. He felt like a child again waiting for his brother's approval. But, he was also a bitter adult who didn't want to accept an appology. Not yet. Maybe not ever.   
His hand went to his head, as if the action alone could quell the turmoil he was going through. He noticed that he was shaking and that, somehow, he had come to be sitting on the ground, his legs slightly bent in front of him. *When did that happen?... * he wondered.  
Sesshomaru was looking at him with patience. He had turned to face the boy as he'd been wiping his face. Seeing him, sitting there, so childlike, vulnerable, and utterly defeated by the conflict in his mind, Sesshomaru felt more guilt and heartache than he had ever been privy to.   
Inu-Yasha began to stand, first pulling his legs close to his body, then getting shakily to his feet. His knees felt as if they would give out. He was shaking with so much anger, fear, and uncertainty, that he felt that any moment he would simply fade out of existance.   
THe ground seemed to be solid again, finally, and Inu-Yasha saw that Sesshomaru was still staring at him with a kind of vieled desperation and that unflappable patience that Inu-Yasha seemed to lack. He was still shaking a bit, still feeling not quite right, but now he felt heavy, as if a great weight in him were pulling toward the ground. He had stopped crying, but his eyes stung and his throat felt tight, as if he might start again at any moment.  
A slight breeze began. It shifted toward Inu-Yasha and he was glad to feel the cool of it against his face. It brought with it the smell of trees, and blossoms and Inu-Yasha breathed them in, tried to calm himself. Sesshomaru's scent reached him, clear and clean. He could smell a little bit of fear in it, a bit of apprehension and worry, but much to Inu-Yasha's chagrin, he could smell no deceit. He wanted a reason to call the demon a liar, but... he had none. Sesshomaru was not deceiving him. He looked at the ground and swallowed hard.   
Inu-Yasha drew in a ragged breath and in a burst of courage, or possibly defeat, he began to speak.   
"I... I have never hate you, either... Not really." THe tears threatened to come to his eyes again. Sesshomaru looked somewhat pleased. No. That wasn't the word. Relieved.   
A tired smile crossed the older demon's face and his usually cold eyes seemed so very... sympathetic. Glad. Had he been hoping to hear that?  
Inu-Yasha composed himself, and added, "But, that doesn't mean I've forGIVEN you for everything yet."   
Sesshomaru smiled.   
Inu-Yasha looked embarassedly off ot the side and mutterd to himself.   
"Shit..."  
Sesshomaru traversed the distance between them and stood beside Inu-Yasha.   
"So we are no longer enemies," said Sesshomaru quietly. He didn't face the boy.   
Inu-Yasha scoffed. "It's not MY fault we were enemies in the FIRST place." He looked defiantly off ot the side. "And just because we're brothers again, doesn't mean I'm not still mad at you. You turned me into a frikkin' girl, for God's sake."   
"Hm." Sesshomaru nodded in admission.   
The silence crept in again and the two brothers stood in the grass.   
"So what do we do now....?" Inu-Yasha asked, grudgingly.  
Sesshomaru shook his head, his brow creasing, and a frown coming to his lips. He sighed.   
"I don't know."  
  
Chapter 15 End  
End of Inu 1/2   
For now... 


End file.
